The perfect pair of food artistry, and mixology.
Nick Matush is just as homegrown as the ingredients used at The Copper Fox. He attended Springfield’s River Valley Technical Center, and his first job was on Main Street in the dish pit at Morning Star Café. Matush has always wanted to breathe life back into Springfield, and doing so with his passion of food was the perfect solution.
His mentor, the late Robert “Mac” McIntyre, taught him that there’s more to running a business than just making fantastic food. “He’d see someone walk through the door, scream their name out, and run out and give them a hug,” Matush said. “He changed the way I thought businesses could be run. He made the kitchen so much fun that I felt like it was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Eventually he put me on the line, and I learned how to cook here.”
Matush went on to study at the New England Culinary Institute’s satellite campus in Tortola. After graduation, he worked with high-profile chefs across the U.S. and in Tortola and learned to cook in a variety of cuisines, including Caribbean, Italian, Cuban, and Peruvian. This lends to the restaurant’s “melting pot cuisine” style, and the menu that changes with the season.
More recently, Matush was executive chef at the Hartness House Tavern in Springfield VT, and The Copper Fox is quickly coming up on it’s 3rd year since opening. It’s always been important to both Matush and Elise to lift up businesses in town, and support the local economy by really focusing on what it means to be a Farm-To-Table restaurant.
Elise Ulrich has always been inspired by her family — and food —, and got into the family catering business at a very young age. She spent 19 years working on Block Island, her experience ranging from seafood takeout, to dine-in restaurants, to fine dining and cuisine.
In 2010, she moved to Ludlow VT, where she began bartending and working at Downtown Grocery. “I was beginning to be inspired by the culinary experience of pairing food with cocktails and wine” Ulrich said, which sparked her journey to Stemwinder. She joined Leslie Stuart and Wendy Neal since the opening of Stemwinder, and worked in both the wine, and cheese shop.
It was there that Ulrich and Matush met, as they worked side by side for years, and eventually teamed up to create The Copper Fox. The restaurant quickly became the perfect blend of unique cuisine, and balanced drink pairings, as Ulrich manages the bar.
“On any days off, we really enjoy searching for more interesting cuisine and cocktails” Ulrich shared, there is always something new and exciting being offered, and it’s clear there is a harmony and balance between the food, and drink.
Rehabbing the restaurant was a family and community affair. Woodworker George Murray helped build a new bar area using 200-year-old barn wood, the bar’s copper top was created by Mitch Rudman at High Falls Furniture Co., local artist Jamie Townsend painted the mural of a leaping fox on the wall, and numerous family members and friends pitched in to paint and clean.
The Copper Fox was opened in the spring of 2018 by Nick Matush and Elise Ulrich with the support of family, friends, and fellow community members with the goal of maintaining a business that supports a network of local farmers and artisans.
During the growing season, we support mostly organic and local farms. When we can’t source from local farms, we use organic as much as possible.
We believe the choices we make about what we eat, where it comes from and how it's prepared have a direct and powerful impact on the health of individuals, communities and the environment.
We’re always looking for ways to source smarter, to make better decisions and to help The Copper Fox and its customers be a positive force in the world and on the food system. We feel a great sense of responsibility and pride to change what it means to be in the business of feeding people.
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