Diners in Randolph have Short Notice, part of the small town's growing restaurant scene

RANDOLPH ― How many couples do you know who found romance in Antarctica? And then settled in central Vermont and opened a restaurant? Go to this new eatery and you’ll know at least one pair fitting that description.

What is the place?

Randi Taylor and Lucas Battey opened their 25-seat restaurant, Short Notice, on June 10. (Another eight eaters can sit outside at sidewalk tables.)  Short Notice offers a casual vibe; customers order at the counter while a server – likely to be Taylor, while Battey works in the kitchen – brings their food and drink.

The menu features small plates inspired by the couple’s travels. The roster of dishes on a recent Monday included “shareables” such as a house-made pretzel, roasted-carrot “fries” and garam masala meatballs. The list of small plates ranged from glazed fennel to cured and seared pork belly to kung pao noodles and radicchio salad. Sandwiches such as blackened chicken and portobello caprese are also available. Desserts, which may include brown butter chocolate-chip cookies, are among the goods baked by Taylor.

“It’s eclectic,” Battey said of the menu, “local flavors, trying to combine enough cuisines so there’s enough for everybody.” He said the tapas-like dishes offer a chance to eat communally, letting visitors try a variety of tastes both familiar and strange.

Short Notice carries beer, wine and soft drinks but emphasizes cocktails, with more than a dozen alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on the menu. One called The Taxco – with tequila, mezcal, honey, lemon and soda water – was inspired directly by the couple’s travels to Mexico.

What’s the story behind it?

Taylor and Battey did indeed meet in Antarctica, by far the world’s least-populated continent. Battey was working there one summer cooking at a research station; Taylor came down to work for the winter season, and they overlapped for a couple of months.

“We hit it off,” Taylor said. “We seemed to like each other.”

After returning to the U.S., the two drove from Taylor’s home region of southern California to Alaska, where they worked for six months at a lodge where Battey was head chef and Taylor was a baker. From Alaska they drove on a diagonal through western Canada, entering the U.S. in North Dakota, and made their way to Vermont, Battey’s home state. (He was born in Randolph and grew up in Chelsea.)

They spent a few months in Vermont, but Taylor’s California conditioning had her craving warmth. She and Battey went to Mexico for three months in early 2022, where they sampled as much local cuisine as they could.

“All the fresh vegetables – it was amazing,” Taylor said.

Then it was back to Vermont, where Taylor worked as a baker at the Woodstock Farmers’ Market grocery store. Battey, wanting to spend a summer outside, worked for a friend as a stonemason before joining Taylor in the kitchen in Woodstock.

Neither had a ton of restaurant experience – certainly not in owning one – but their time south of the border inspired them to think about it seriously.

“There are just so many cool hole-in-the-wall places” in Mexico, according to Battey. “We kept looking at each other and saying, ‘Yeah, we could possibly do this.’”

That’s what led them to open Short Notice. Business was great this summer, Battey said, but less so after Labor Day.

“It’s been a slow few weeks,” he said. Taylor said they’re hopeful things will pick up again for foliage season.

They’re excited to be in Randolph. Short Notice joins a long list of eateries in Randolph that are wholly or partly owned by women, all of which are calling attention to the increasingly lively dining scene in the town of fewer than 5,000 residents.

“Saap definitely has helped with that,” Taylor said of the Thai restaurant co-owned by James Beard Award-winning chef Nisachon “Rung” Morgan.

Other eateries in town with a strong female presence include Tacocat Cantina, Kuya’s at One Main, the Windy Lane Bakehouse, Wit & Grit and the Wee Bird Bagel Café. Those restaurant owners – as well as the proprietor of the recently-closed Black Krim Tavern, Sarah Natvig - have been supportive in offering advice and supplies as Short Notice has gotten off the ground.

“Everyone has been so amazing,” according to Taylor. “It’s been really, really nice.”

Hours and location

Short Notice, 29 N. Main St., Randolph. 3-10 p.m. Thursday, Sunday and Monday; 3-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (802) 565-8589, www.shortnoticevt.com

Contact Brent Hallenbeck at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Short Notice, new Randolph restaurant, adds to growing dining scene