Corners Inn Closes Its Doors

If you've visited the website for the Corners Inn Restaurant in the last week and wondered why you've been greeted with a blank white page, it isn't because of a website problem, it's sadly because the restaurant has shuttered.

Chef and Innkeeper Fredric Byarm sent out an email last week announcing that 'operations from this date forward are no longer the responsibility of Marby Corporation nor Fredric Byarm'.

We emailed Fredric to see if we could find out more, including if he had plans to re-appear in a new location next season but we received an auto response which said 'sorry but this company and all operations have been closed'. That was a week ago.

Then today Fredric announced via Facebook that he had secured a job with the management team at the Woodstock Farmers Market. Which is probably just as well.

The restaurant business is a tough game, one which Fredric is no stranger to. Last season he was behind the failed Twilight Bistro at the Mountain Green Resort at Killington, which this season reopened under new management (the front desk's words, not ours) as the classy sounding Double D's (we never made it there and sadly it is due to close for the season at the end of this week).

What went wrong at the Corners Inn then? The restaurant located at 52 Upper Road (between Killington and Woodstock) was in an awkward 'blink and you'll miss it' location. The night we dined there we had to turn around after driving right by it.

The reviews were also mixed with one Rutneyland resident describing it as 'one of the worst restaurants we've ever been to' while another stated the 'dinners were very slow....and that other patrons got up and left'. On a more positive note, one New Jersey diner described their meal as 'interesting and delicious'. We had a similar experience. Rut Girl thought her Carbonara was pretty bland but her friend Butternut loved the duck.

Coincidentally we see that someone with the exact same name as Fredric is due for an arraignment hearing at the Windsor District Court at the end of the month. The food wasn't that bad.

Do You Recognize These Men?

By night they're known as the rockin' and oddly named trio Bogo Guppy. By day this trio rock and rolls in an entirely different fashion.

Our friend Butternut dragged us out last Friday night and despite Rut Girl's persistent flu, she abated, intrigued by the fact that Butternut told us her favorite bus driver plays in the band.

Imagine our surprise when we arrived at the Downtown Tavern and spied a man that looked very familiar to us.

Yes, turns out Butternut's favorite bus driver is Rut Girl's least favorite driver. Regular readers of The Rut will probably remember Rut Girl's encounter with Ross earlier in the month when he declared The Bus would go on strike after voters declined ongoing funding.

You can revisit that delightful ride here.......on the plus side for Ross we did discover he rescued a kitten last year, so we're open to giving him another chance.

So raging and ranting Ross Vumbaco spends his days driving The Bus but he's not the only band member renowned for his day job.

The carving Ken Marisseau, who sings and plays the guitar, is head of Killington Resort's Ski School and has quite a rock and roll past, having played in ski school bands for an eternity.

The swinging Chris Cornelius, who sings and plays the bass, is Rutland's own Dr Feelgood and gets pulses racing at his local clinic. Well actually, maybe not. According to some of the reviews we found online, Dr Cornelius may have gone to the same customer service school as Ross. Maybe the pair should give up their day jobs!

The band entertained the appreciative crowd at the Downtown Tavern with sets of covers including Alien Ant Farm's version of Smooth Criminal, which they dedicated to the late Corey Haim.

It took a while but eventually patrons followed one Guppy Groupie's impassioned plea to join her (we think she might be Ross' wife) and grooved the night away. We particularly like the man doing the two beer fist pump.

The Beast Made Me Do It

Rut Girl has heard and given her fair share of excuses for being late to work but today she heard the best one of the season.

Pesky old daylight savings started today, meaning the clocks moved forward an hour. That played havoc with the work and social lives of those who didn't change their clocks before bedtime.

Amongst those caught out, one Killington Resort employee who turned up late. His excuse? The Beast told him to be late (click here to learn more about the beast)!!! We love it and we hear he wasn't alone and that scores of employees missed the start of their shifts.

Maybe it was the wicked awesome sleepover the Beast threw?

Inn At Long Trail The Place To Be Wednesday

Well Killington was about as rocking as an Enya concert last night. So Rut Girl had to entertain herself by taking photos - they're from the parking lot at the Inn At Long Trail where one driver took the angled parking sign a little too far.

This was Rut Girl's first visit to the Inn At Long Trail, and it was very quiet but the service was great and the bartender told us that St Patrick's Day is going to be huge there. No surprise, it's their biggest night of the year and apparently people start lining up outside the pub doors well before its opening time of 11.30am.

Expect the Guinness to be flowing, the Irish music to be pumping and plenty of the Irish eats that the Inn does so well. Only five sleeps to go. We'll be there, to be sure, to be sure.

The photo is deceptive but the car's tires are literally up on the ice...too much Guinness

Snowshed Staff Snub Snowboarders

Last week it was Andy Reid's customer service skills that made us laugh. This week it's the staff at Killington's Snowshed Rentals desk whose shabby service upset some visiting snowboarders, although sadly, unlike at the Deli at Killington Corner, there were no Christian Bale inspired antics.

With spring like conditions across the weekend, anyone who was anyone hit the slopes. Even Rut Girl managed to fit in a few runs. Runs to the bar that is. The sun was shining, the sky was particularly blue, there wasn't a lot to complain about.

Unless of course you were at Snowshed trying to get some help with your snowboard. Rut Girl received an email (rutgirl@gmail.com) from a disgruntled New Yorker who vented that when they went to the rentals desk to have a snowboard adjusted, the five staff working were more interested in chatting to each other than customers.


Designated slow zone....you're not wrong

The group had to wave to get attention and when they did the staff continued to ignore them until one girl yelled 'can we get some help here?'. A female staff member sauntered over and proceeded to patronize the group rather than offer any genuine assistance.

Under the impression the board they had was a 'righty', the group went to exchange it for a 'goofy'(Rut Girl loves snowboarding terminology). The staff member rolled her eyes and remarked 'it's a twin tip board; you just lift this' and promptly returned to the gossip session. Even better, she didn't actually adjust the board for them, she left them to figure it out for themselves. The New Yorker told us she's glad she wasn't a first timer and was able to figure it out. So are we.

Eat Your Heart Out Bear Grylls

A curious sight on Friday afternoon at Killington Post Office where a car load of middle-aged men adorned with green beads and Jack Daniel’s tartan caps that had bright orange hair attached to them, accosted Rut Girl. They adopted her because she had the same colored hair. For the record, Rut Girl does not have bright orange hair, so she was slightly miffed but happy to accept their gift of beads.

When pressed on their attire, the men simply claimed this was how they usually go out. Fair enough; although we expect the striking head wear was something they attained during Jack Daniel’s weekend. The group had hit the slopes that day and told us the conditions were pretty slushy. When that led them to suggest we make slushies from the melting snow banks mixed with a substance only Bear Grylls would drink (see below), it was time for Rut Girl to move on. The jovial lads moved on to the Wobbly Barn where we can only imagine what hijinks they got up to.

Rut Girl's Friday Fail
Walgreens is the winner of Rut Girl's inaugural Friday Fail. Some residents on Woodstock Avenue today were rudely jolted from their sleep by the sound of an industrial strength leaf blower which was in use at 5.30am. While Walgreens' parking lot may look pristine today, the same can't be said for the mood of locals.

Rut Girl's Friday Fun
It's a bit silly but there's an email that's been doing the rounds at Killington titled 'Another Two Feet of Snow'. You get the picture. It made Rut Girl smile today.

Rut Girl's Friday Bus Ruckus
Not a day goes by when Rut Girl doesn't hear an amusing tale from someone riding The Bus to Killington. Once again it was the 7.15am bus, which predominantly carries Killington and Pico staff, where there was an amusing display of bus driver/customer interaction.

According to Rut Girl's source, The Bus was unusually crowded with standing room only until Pico. When The Bus pulled in to The Nordic Inn, nicknamed Little Jamaica because it is home to many of Killington's Jamaican employees, the driver was unimpressed by one man's indecision about getting on the Rutland-Killington connector versus the Highridge bus which could be seen approaching The Nordic.

The driver, in a tone that indicated indecision would be punished, said 'you're either on or off, make up your mind' followed by 'you better grab some metal (ie a hand rail)' when he finally got on board. We love it.

Great Volunteer, Shame About His Customer Service

So another town meeting has come and gone and with it some more awards were handed out, notably to Andy Reid (not to be confused with the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles) from the Deli at Killington Corner, who took out the Volunteer of the Year award.

It's not the first time Andy has picked up an award for his volunteering efforts. The Killington Chamber of Commerce gave him an award last year.

Not exactly sure what the extent of Andy's volunteer efforts are unless of course its in cussing customers or handing out ass kickings, in which case, he's totally deserving. Rut Girl likes to think of him as the Christian Bale of Killington. Side note, check out RevoLucian's remix of the Bale rant, it's awesome.

Anyone who has spent any time at the deli will have encountered Andy. He's big in voice and big in personality. He also has a wicked temper. Just ask any underage drinker who has a) foolishly attempted to buy alcohol with no ID and b) attempted to talk back to Andy after he's denied their purchase.

In fact the first time Rut Girl ever went to the deli (best sandwiches on the mountain by the way), Andy was chest to chest with some kids from Boston, telling them he was going to call the cops. Rut Girl has been going back ever since, mainly in the hopes of witnessing more great examples of customer service. She hasn't been disappointed.

Rut Girl isn't alone. When she talked to some people about their visits to the deli they had some very disparaging remarks about Andy's customer service skills. In fact, one woman told us Andy threw her sandwiches at her, which actually made me laugh, because let's face it, customers can be annoying.

To be fair to Andy, 1) he's always been lovely to Rut Girl; 2) Rut Girl has it on good authority that he is actually terrific at helping out the Killington community and 3) our brief Google search netted only one negative remark:

'The owner is a loudmouth flatlander', Trip Advisor: http://bit.ly/a3OctW

You don't hear the word flatlander used every day. Why don't you try throwing it into a conversation today and see how it goes down.

Take Your Time Melanie, No Rush

A big shout out to Melanie from Peru today who kept commuters entertained on this morning's 7.15am bus to Killington. As The Bus pulled into Lafayette Street, Melanie could be seen in the distance balancing what looked like a plate and a cup. Decked out in her Killington uniform, it was clear Melanie needed to be on the bus as opposed to taking a leisurely breakfast stroll.

Apparently, the Bus driver and all on board offered amusing commentary as Melanie would run two steps, walk twenty steps, run a couple more, taking a total of five minutes to get to the bus, which was clearly waiting. Laughter erupted as Melanie finally stepped on to the bus (weirdly out of breath), carrying a plate of pizza and a cup of tea. As you do.

If The Rutland-Killington Bus is Rocking, Don’t Come Knocking

Some commuters on last night’s 10.15pm Rutland-Killington bus were shocked when two mountain employees engaged in a raunchy make-out session. Rut Girl hears the antics were more like something from Rock of Love Bus with Bret Michaels than the type of behavior one normally sees on the commute to Killington.

While most tried to ignore the blatant display of passion unfolding before their eyes, Rut Girl hears one regular on the bus was quite the voyeur and remained fixated by the amorous pair.

We’re not that surprised though. Monday nights are ‘international party night’ at Killington, where the international workers from Killington and Pico let their hair down after the weekend with many heading to Charity’s for a few not-so-quite bevies.

In fact, only a few weeks ago a bus driver on the 10.15pm bus threatened to kick a group of Latin American revelers off the bus when they began drinking beer on the bus. The partiers were then made to dispose of their liquid ale or face a long walk home in the cold.

Rut Girl thinks she might have to catch The Bus more often.

The Pinnacle Of Family Dining

Double D’s. The name says it all really. You don’t have to look too closely to notice the connotations which are about as subtle as a set of human DD’s. But what we love more than the strategically placed pair of black diamonds is that the newly opened Double D’s at Killington's Mountain Green Resort offers a kids menu. Oh and there's dancing too, can only imagine what kind. Don't despair, Rut Girl's interest has definitely been 'peaked'; we'll let you know how her visit goes.

Not So Stable

It seems like Rutneyland residents aren't the only ones starved for fun.

At Killington Resort's K1 Base Lodge, thieves made off with a ... wait for it ... 'big round table'.



Seriously? A table? Skis, yes. Table, no. In fact, stealing a table from a ski lodge seems, well, a little unstable.

While Killington may be happy to ask no questions, Rut Girl has questions:

1. Why?
2. How did you get it out of there with no one seeing you?
3. Why?

We here at Rutneyland implore you by all means to return the table, but then send us an email (rutgirl@gmail.com) and let us know what possessed you to take it in the first place.

They Don't Call It The Kill For Nothing

Was out enjoying the pizza buffet at Killington's Outback Pizza on Monday night where getting a slice was like trying to get a sane word out of Tila Tequila.

Couldn't help but laugh when we saw a father introducing his kid to the joys of hunting. Only in Vermont.