SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – There’s trouble brewing over fresh-baked bagels at a South Burlington bakery.
The phrase “not in my backyard” typically applies to solar panels or construction, but for the folks living behind Myer’s Bagels, the struggle is over the smell of smoke.
When the shop moved to Shelburne Road in 2023, they hoped neighbors would be pleased to have a local bakery. Owner Adam Jones says many were, but not the couple living behind the building.
“The neighbors came and approached us and said, ‘Look, we are being annoyed by the smoke that you produce,’” Jones recalled.
Those neighbors, Appletree Court residents Robert Payson and Kathy Brunette, declined our request for an interview.
Court documents show the couple complained about smoke and the scent of burning wood drifting into their backyard from Myer’s wood-fired oven. They allege it was unbearable, making them cough, leaving a lingering smell and residue in their home, and forcing them to stay inside. In 2024, the couple filed a complaint with the city of South Burlington.
To meet the city’s smoke and odor standards, Myers installed a blower.
“It will not eliminate smoke, but any smoke coming up, it will diffuse it and expand it, and it might create less concentration, thus less odor,” Jones said.
The couple kept complaining, so South Burlington hired a consultant to conduct an air quality test. The results showed Myer’s was in compliance with city standards.
Still, Payson and Brunette pushed back. In the fall of 2024, the bagel shop received a summons. They were suing Myer’s for nuisance, trespassing and negligence.
Last fall, a Superior Court judge tossed out the couple’s claims of trespassing and negligence. Now, Myer’s and its neighbors are attending mediation sessions, hoping to solve the couple’s nuisance claims without going to trial.
Jones says he’s shelled out serious dough in the yearslong back-and-forth.
Reporter Sophia Thomas: How much do you think you’ve spent trying to get to a better place with them?
Adam Jones: Time, fees, infrastructure, like $12,000 plus so far, I’d say.
Other neighbors say they smell the smoke and aren’t bothered by it, but they feel for the couple.
“A couple of times a week. It all depends on the time of day when you’re out, and of course, the direction of the wind. No, it doesn’t bug me, but we’re also not as close to where the actual exhaust is,” said Brian Ecken Roth.
Baking bagels seven days a week, Jones hopes to find a way for his backyard neighbors and business to coexist.
“We’ve made many attempts to try to do things per their suggestion of resolving this, and they just, at this point, haven’t been equitable to them, and we’re still continuing to try. It’s not that we’ve walked away from this. We want to find a resolution,” Jones said.
Jones says the couple’s lawyer suggested a more expensive infrastructure upgrades to remedy the smoke.
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