Tony Elliott, left, and Gary Smith take advantage of the WiFi Internet access to work on their laptops after grabbing a bite at Boccelli's on the Canal in Bellows Falls recently.Photo: JON OLENDER / RUTLAND HERALD
 

BELLOWS FALLS — When Sharon Boccelli looks out of   her downtown café and deli, she sees an emerging hipness in the village that reminds her of the heyday of her former hometown, Cambridge, Mass.

Boccelli, who opened the combination café/deli/grocery store called Boccelli's on the Canal two months ago, said she sees Bellows Falls as undergoing a "rebirth for the better," as artists and unique new business owners eye the sleepy Windham County village.

"It really is reminding me of how Cambridge, Mass., once was," she said last week. "There is a strong and growing artist scene, and the community has a bohemian, eclectic flavor. That's why I've made this place home."

Originally from the Boston area, Boccelli ran an antiques auction house, S.B. & Company, in Cambridge for 26 years. She summered with her family at a cabin in Westminster West and always found herself attracted to the architecture and vibe of Bellows Falls.

An early retirement from the auction field lasted several years. But Boccelli said she was itching to get back to work. And that's when she saw the downtown building she now owns — a former industrial-style garage, long since vacated, bordering the Bellows Falls Canal and a train station — for sale.

"I just fell in love with the building," she said. "I saw lots of potential here."

She bought the building in 2004 with an eye toward opening up her new business in the food industry soon afterward. But then she discovered that an oil tank had been buried on the site and environmental clean-up was required.

Boccelli said the next year was a "nightmare" of tests before she received the final OK to begin a full renovation. The sudden starts and stops of construction ate up a lot of time and money, she said.

The business finally opened earlier this year.

The customer base has been building, she said, as more people hear about the Italian-style deli offerings and homemade pastries available at the shop.

Boccelli's on the Canal also features a small, organic and whole foods grocery section, with a strong emphasis on ethnic foods, coffee, teas and herbs. She said she proudly carries many made-in-Vermont products.

"I grew up in a huge Italian family," she said. "Cooking is part of our culture."

Now the former mechanics garage resembles a hip eatery one usually only finds in large cities, with a decorative style that comes straight from an auction house.

The centerpiece of the room is a large wooden harvest table that Boccelli said has the uncanny ability to attract people and get them gabbing.

"People who don't know each other come right up, sit down and start talking," she said. "That table creates new friends. It's wonderful."

As a businesswoman, Boccelli said she wants the deli and café to be financially successful. But as a woman interested in community building, she said she also wants Boccelli's on the Canal to be an inviting place to hang out.

"I just want people to come in and sit down and have a good time," she said. "Enjoy the ambiance. I know I'll have done something right when that happens."

Owner Sharon Boccelli, right, and her partner, Ingrid Boccelli, stand by the olive bar at Boccelli's on the Canal in Bellows Falls.Photo: JON OLENDER / RUTLAND HERALD