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New Dream Away Lodge owners say they want to maintain storied Becket establishment’s legacy

Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA on Thursday, June 27, 2013. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh)
Matthew Cavanaugh Photography
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https://www.thedreamawaylodge.com/
Dream Away Lodge in Becket, MA on Thursday, June 27, 2013. (Photo by Matthew Cavanaugh)

The new owners of the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Massachusetts say they’re dedicated to maintaining its unique identity while expanding its offerings.

On Sunday, the Dream Away Lodge set Berkshire County social media ablaze with news that Daniel Osman had sold the venerable establishment after months of uncertainty about its future.

“So, my business is very much outside of the world of Dream Away. I come from the film and television industry," said Eastern Effects owner Scott Levy. “I rent equipment and trucking and generators and studios to the film and television industry as my regular day job. But I have been coming to the Berkshires my entire life from ever since I can remember as a baby to my adult life.”

In 2004, Levy bought a home in Becket and was advised to visit the Dream Away.

“And of course, once I went there, I felt like I was part of a special secret club, where when I walked in, it was like time had stood still and I was in another world, transported to this other time and other place," he told WAMC. "And I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere and the energy and the music pouring out of the living room, and instantly connected with Daniel Osman, the owner, who we made that instant connection and stayed friends ever since.”

That relationship remained intact through Osman’s decision to sell the lodge following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After a controversial attempt to develop the property into a luxury camping facility died, Levy – along with his wife Sheryl Victor Levy, restauranteur Daniel Giddings and his wife April Wilson – stepped up to take over the Dream Away.

“Our vision is that the Dream Away Lodge doesn't change, right?" Levy told WAMC. "The Dream Away Lodge and the history of the Dream Away are intact, the legacy is intact, and we don't plan on changing very much, if anything at all.”

That isn’t to say that the new owners don’t have some plans to expand the Dream Away’s offerings.

“It would, might be a little more space outdoor for dining," said Levy. "You know, that's something that really wasn't done as much in the past. And that's something that people learned about during COVID and how wonderful outdoor dining can be at the Dream Away because the outdoors are beautiful there and the music can be played out on the porch.”

While Levy is a newcomer to the world of restaurants, Giddings comes with ample experience. He got into the game after working in construction, and is behind eateries like Beco and Casa Pública in Brooklyn.

“The Dream Away is in a part of the world that I've been going to since I was little," Giddings told WAMC. "My best friend's grandparents have a house on the New York side, Copake, Craryville area. And so I would go to Great Barrington and the Berkshires and Tanglewood when I was little, and have always had a big place for it my heart.”

Levy brought Giddings up to the Dream Away in 2021 while its future remained unclear.

“I went that went up there just because Scott loves the place and he's like, you just have to experience it before it changes," said Giddings. "So I went up there with him, and I thought I was going to just take a tour of the property with the owner, Daniel Osman, and instead, after this tour, there was also a history lesson and a look back at folk music and singer-songwriting. I was invited to stay for dinner and it felt like this effortless group of people all sort of gathered. And it was an eclectic group of people, diverse and interesting. And we went basically from late afternoon when it was still light out out deep into the night, and I kind of forgot about where I was in time, and was just enjoying the company. Daniel, he facilitated everything. He made everybody feel at ease. And I walked away from that experience really understanding why Scott was describing the Dream Away as magical.”

Like Levy, Giddings said he’s intent on continuing the unbroken chain of the Dream Away’s legacy with some minor adjustments.

“We want to create a place that is both for locals as well, as well as people that come there seasonally," Giddings told WAMC. "And to do that, we need to make sure that it's affordable to be able to go there more than once a week, that it's a place that has items that that that everybody can afford or everybody can go maybe once in a while if they're not people that have huge incomes.”

Levy says the key message to fans of the Dream Away is that its new owners are coming in with a sense of responsibility, enthusiasm, and an interest in engaging the community.

“We want people to know we're regular people like they are, who have a passion for the Dream Away Lodge like they do," he said. "And that we intend to do justice to its legacy, and to focus on their place in Becket and this moment in time and continue it on with all the energy and excitement that we can.”

The Dream Away Lodge, which has been a WAMC underwriter, is set to re-open this spring.

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Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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