Sonny's Blue Benn: Feeding the Soul of a Vermont Town
Sonny's Blue Benn: Feeding the Soul of a Vermont Town
Sonny Monroe was a short-order chef with big ambitions. A born culinary talent, he dreamed of a restaurant where he could create recipes that sparked his imagination. In 1974, Sonny and his wife
(Marylou) acquired a scrappy diner in southwestern Vermont. It wasn’t very long before Sonny’s Blue Benn was a Bennington landmark, as much for free-flowing conversation as the mouth-watering food.

This is a book about a legendary diner and the family that created it. It’s also a celebration of a community hangout, a place that gave townspeople a chance to forge connections with their neighbors no matter what side of the political or economic divide they found themselves.

In the tradition of Studs Terkel’s Working, the story is told by the people that made the Blue Benn a renowned Vermont institution: the regulars who ate there and the staff that served them. Sonny’s Blue Benn: Feeding the Soul of a Vermont Town celebrates the importance of small-town life and the value of local gathering places. These are stories of a Vermont community and an iconic diner that magically brought it together.

PRODUCT DETAILS:
Scribe, LLC d/b/a The Story Project
Author: Caitlin Randall
Principal Photography: Peter Crabtree
Archival Photos: Courtesy of Mary Lou Monroe and Lisa LaFlamme
Number of Pages: 181
Number of Images: 165
Dimensions: 11 X 8 X 0.5 Inches (US)
Publication Year: 2023
ISBN: 979-8-218-29830-2