Chef Michael Boomhower’s career has taken him to California’s Bay Area, Plate and Michael’s on the Hill in the Stowe area, and Union and Central Provisions in Portland, Maine. For the first restaurant of his own, he’s returning to Franklin County, where he grew up. The Enosburgh native, 38, will open Ralston’s Restaurant in the historic Ralston building at 54 North Main Street in St. Albans in early September. The style of food is “a blank slate,” Boomhower said, though he and the staff will play with New England and French Canadian dishes, serving “reimagined classics evolved to 2026.” The seafood on the menu will reflect Boomhower’s experience in Portland, where his final gig before moving home was as chef at the Danforth, an upscale bar-restaurant from the team behind Death Co., a giant in the cocktail world. “But we are in Franklin County,” he said. “And for me, Franklin County is beef — a lot of beef.” A steak section of the menu will offer different cuts to use all of the cow, sourced from local farms. Other dishes will include fresh pasta, half chicken with seasonal accoutrements, and rotating proteins such as pork, duck and venison. Bar snacks might be tinned fish, marinated Boston Post Dairy cheese curds and fried olives with citrus aioli. Boomhower is Ralston’s majority owner; friends turned business partners Scott Collins and Jody Hayes, who bought 3 Squares Café in Vergennes in January 2024, are involved behind the scenes. Boomhower has worked with them in Vergennes since he returned to Vermont. With help from the City of St. Albans, which has owned the building since 2021, they’ve transformed the former Nourish Deli Bakery space into a two-floor restaurant. A grand staircase connects the upstairs bar area to the intimate downstairs dining room. To match the stained-glass Ralston’s sign, the team has sourced Tiffany-style lamps to place throughout the restaurant. “We’re excited to be stewards of the space, apply all the things we’ve learned and share the adventure with my home community,” Boomhower said. “Here I am in St. Albans, and I couldn’t be happier.” The post Ralston’s Restaurant to Open in St. Albans appeared first on Seven Days. ...read more read less