A Hit in Kent

What do you do after you have set aside substance abuse and begun to stitch together the pieces of your life?

Many needy souls have come to High Watch in Kent, a retreat established in 1939 as the world’s first 12-Step treatment center and many have successfully returned to productive lives. But there is always a transitional period, a fragile time when the former addict has to find a new place in sober society.

High Watch is now facilitating that process for some of its former clients through a sleek new bakery and café located at 10 North Main in Kent.

“At the core of what we do at High Watch is preparing our guests for life after High Watch, giving them the tools for recovery,” said Jason Perillo, chief marketing officer. “One thing we want to do is to build careers. Wilson’s was inspired by that goal.”

The new bakery-café has been in the works for a little more than a year and opened its doors only three weeks ago. It is staffed entirely by persons in recovery and has quickly become a part of Kent’s downtown business community, according to Perillo. “These are tremendously talented, accomplished chefs and bakers—truly talented people who are in recovery. Our baker has extensive experience at restaurants throughout Litchfield County as does our cafe manager who comes to us with many years of management experience. They are good for Wilson’s and Wilson’s is good for them.”

He said the staff members are not still in active treatment at High Watch. “When you are a guest at High Watch, you stay with us on campus but some of our alumni live in sober communities.”

Perillo said that the menu at the bakery and café is a collaborative effort. “We have a head chef and café manager and they collaborated with the entire team to establish the menu,” Perillo said. “Things are on it for a while and then come off and something else goes on. There is a good-size offering of salads, sandwiches and baked goods with an appeal for everyone but I would say the chicken biscuit may be the most popular thing on the menu—it is to die for.”

Wilson’s is open 7AM-4PM, Thursday-Monday and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. As a breakfast and lunch place, it features breakfast sandwiches, house-made rustic breads, biscuits, bagels and a daily specialty bread. There is also a selection of coffees, teas, juices and smoothies.

The café is limited in its indoor seating and does provide a take-out service. It is also developing a thriving business creating custom-made cakes for weddings and special events. “We make everything in house and the community’s response has been tremendous,” said Perillo. “There’s not a moment that I’m there that it’s not busy.”

So, why is its name “Wilson’s”? “Bill Wilson was one of the founders of AA and High Watch,” explained Perillo. “We have a special place in our heart for Bill Wilson. Bill’s life in AA was devoted to creating supportive groups in recovery and, in many ways, that is what Wilson’s is for staff and patrons.”

High Watch also offers employment opportunities for prior guests and alumni at its farm on Carter Road in Kent but Perillo said working at Wilson’s is a different experience. “High Watch has been part of the Kent community since 1939,” the marketing chief said, “but it has not really had strong presence in downtown. That became the logical location for Wilson’s where it could become part of downtown fabric. The Kent Barns location happened to be available and was a beautiful space with great neighbors.”

While Mountainside, another treatment center located 22 miles to the north of Kent, has had a breakfast restaurant staffed by its alumni for many years, Perillo said, “We didn’t design it in the image of anything else. It is its own entity with its own personality. We hit the nail on the head and it has a feel all its own.”

Part of the planning included a soft opening for just staff at the end of July. “We wanted to work out the kinks,” Perillo said. “We really wanted to take time to make sure that everything was right. It turns out that the two weeks or so was worth it.”