When George and Mary (Girl George) Schenk had the barn at American Flatbread inspected, they were told that it needed to be repaired or it would fall down within a few years.
Portions of the barn date back to 1795 and carry the pre-mortar and peg post-and-beam construction technique of carving “marriage marks” that were used to put the piece together in proper order. In the 1900s the barn was extended and the long wall became the gable end. They knew that the barn has a roof issue after blizzard winds exposed one end.
So with their staff at American Flatbread, including president Clay Westbrook, they began exploring options for fixing the barn.
They applied for and received a Vermont Barn Preservation Grant for $15,000, half of what fixing the roof would cost. They consulted a roofer who advised them that they needed to fix the structure before the roof. A structure contractor told them to fix the foundation first.
So they hired a foundation contractor who completed what American Flatbread president Clay Westbrook called “Phase 1” of their extensive renovation of the barn. Phase 1 included the initial foundation work, raising the barn, pouring a new foundation and setting the barn back down.
The barn, which has for many years hosted at least one and often two exhibits for Valley Arts and the Vermont Festival of the Arts, will undergo Phase 2 in September when the Festival of the Arts’ shows are completed for the season.
When all is said and done, the project will cost $470,000. They have a $15,000 grant for the roof and they are still exploring other grant options. The foundation work was $125,000 and they did an additional $20,000 in rock work. The roof will cost $30,000. The balance will go into fixing the frame.
They have applied to admission to the National Register of Historic Places as well.
They discovered that the southeast corner of the barn had swelling and tapering axe-hewn beams with the marriage marks that its builder used to raise the barn. They decided to expose those beams when they reconstructed the structure.
“But we started toying with the idea of trying to raise funds for the project since the barn is used for community functions,” Westbrook said. The Schenks were reluctant to ask for help from the community, but Westbrook was able to convince them to at least consider a couple of fundraising ideas.
One is a memories book featuring all the dedications that George Schenk writes every week for the restaurant. For $15 the public could write their own dedication or draw a picture or poem or painting to tell their story or memory about American Flatbread, perhaps commemorating a wedding proposal or anniversary or birthday celebration.
“We’d create a living document that lives in the barn, printed and bound, with people’s stories,” Westbrook said.
They are also considering selling sections of floorboards that could be engraved with people’s names, similar to the way engraved bricks were sold to accent the sidewalks on Bridge Street in Waitsfield.
“The new floor will be wide-plank ash and we’re working on a concept where people could buy a section of floor board. We’re still playing around with the idea; we’re not a nonprofit, but it is a facility that is used by the community and we don’t charge rent for the art exhibits and don’t charge artists any commissions or fees, so we’re exploring what kind of support there might be for fundraising,” he added.
“The barn, like all of our former dairy barns, is part of our agricultural heritage and from a business point of view, the best thing to do would be to tear it down, but we don’t want to. We think our agricultural heritage is part of what attracts tourists to The Valley and keeps our economy strong,” Westbrook explained.
Those interested in contributing to the fundraising effort can contact Westbrook at
And a page can be purchased at the following link: http://shop.americanflatbread.com/products/flatbread-dedication-book-buy-a-page-lareau-barn-fundraiser.
