Room for Two More at the Final Farmers Dinner Table

Jon Randall is pretty excited about what's happening at The Country Tavern this year.

"This year we put the focus back on the restaurant," said Randall, owner of The Country Tavern who, like many of his fellow restaurant owners, have spent the past few years in survival mode.

After extending his business to include more catering, Randall is ready to reintroduce diners to his restaurant/pub style menu in the spacious multi-level restaurant at 452 Amherst Street.

Renovations to his upstairs function room were completed in August, and at about the same time he was ready to start marketing it, Keith Sarasin came calling, to see if Randall would like to partner up for this season's final The Farmers Dinner.

"I get four calls a day, on average, from people like Keith. Everybody wants something," Randall said. "But as soon as he started talking about doing a farmers dinner, I was intrigued. It was a good fit for us."

For Sarasin, who has been organizing Farmers Dinners since last summer, the feeling was mutual.

"I was looking at Nashua, and in doing my research, I thought what better place than The Country Tavern, which started out as a farm," Sarasin said.

Randall says he can't think of another local restaurant that can make that claim. Randall bought the restaurant 18 years ago from the previous owners, who converted the farmhouse into a restaurant in 1982. But the property has a rich history, dating back to when the area was still known as Dunstable.

"I've got aerial photographs from the 1950s, and there was nothing else for miles but a two-lane dirt road," Randall said.

"For me, the timing couldn't be better. People will forget about a business after a while, so between the renovations and the Farmers Dinner, we can remind people that we're here, and still serving the same great food as always," Randall said.

This is the eighth Farmers Dinner since 2012, and each one has sold out. Sarasin said due to the success of the concept and great reception from farmers, restaurants and diners, he'll be keeping it going with a new series of dinners for 2014.

Featured farms on Dec. 8 will include: Rickety Ranch of Hollis; Generation Farm of Concord; Upinngil Farm of Gill, Mass.; Local Gold Honey by Kagen Weeks; and breads and dessert by Jeremy St. Hilaire of Great Harvest Bread Co of Nashua.

There arejust two seats left according to Sarasin. Click here for availability and to order. Tickets are $55.

On the menu: Creamy potato and leek soup; crispy Peking duck salad; Rickety Ranch Roasted Pork Tenderloin; candied bacon & burbon babka, all paired with local spirits.

"We've had a number of these dinners now, and as I look at the list for this dinner, it's about 80 percent newbies, which is amazing," Sarasin said.

For more on The Farmers Dinner, check out their website. For more on the Country Tavern, including menu and live entertainment schedule, click here.