By Guy Page
Just days after a popular Burlington coffee shop announced it would close amid a strike and challenging financial and social conditions in downtown Burlington, a Barre restaurant is sounding the alarm about overtaxation.
Barre restaurant owner Diane Duquet Hood says she plans to take her concerns about rising property taxes directly to local lawmakers after hearing back from both U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ office and Gov. Phil Scott’s office.
In Burlington, the popular Black Cap Coffee & Bakery announced a week ago it would close, citing the “extraordinarily difficult…economic environment” downtown and the area’s endemic drug abuse. Owner Laura Villalta denied the closure was connected with an ongoing worker strike.
Duquet, owner of the Meltdown, a downtown Barre grilled cheese restaurant, pointed a warning finger directly at taxation.
In an update shared on the Aired Out! Facebook page Friday Dec. 12, Hood said both offices responded to her outreach but advised that the issue should be addressed at the local legislative level. She said she appreciates the replies and intends to contact area legislators.
“This isn’t about pointing fingers — it’s about continuing the conversation at every level and making sure our local voices are heard,” Hood wrote. “I’ll keep showing up, asking questions, and advocating for small businesses and homeowners in our community.”
Hood and her husband, John Hood, co-own The Meltdown. Her update followed a widely shared post detailing the financial strain rising property taxes are placing on the business.
According to Hood, property taxes on the building have climbed from about $11,000 a year to more than $14,000, with the steepest increase occurring last year and another hike now pending. Those costs, she said, are layered on top of a mortgage, insurance, utilities, maintenance, and the escalating expenses of operating a restaurant.
Hood said nearly every major cost has increased, including food, labor, insurance, utilities, and credit-card processing fees. At the same time, she said, there is a limit to how much those increases can be passed on to customers.
“I can’t just tack $3 more onto a grilled cheese,” Hood wrote, noting that many patrons are struggling financially as well and voice that frustration daily.
Hood also challenged the perception that restaurant owners are “rolling in money,” saying restaurants are often among the first businesses to suffer when the economy tightens. She noted that The Meltdown generates significant tax revenue, estimating more than $100,000 last year through the state meals and alcohol tax and Barre’s 1% local option tax, even though the restaurant only collects and remits those taxes.
She warned that continued increases in property taxes could force small businesses to close, leading to lost jobs, reduced tax revenue, and empty storefronts in downtown Barre.
Hood said the outpouring of support following her post has encouraged her to continue raising the issue.
“I love this town. I love this community,” she wrote. “But we need some common-sense relief before the businesses that hold this community together are pushed right out of it.”