How Abby Park Helped Usher in A New Era for Milton Dining

Abby Park opened in East Milton in 2009. The restaurants specializes in serving “a little something for everyone” but with a gourmet touch.

Owner Vance Welch has been in Milton since 1993. He talked to Patch about Abby Park and how Milton’s dining scene has vastly improved over the course of 20 years. 

Milton Patch: What’s your origin in Milton?

Vance Welch: I used to own a café called Java Joe’s prior to opening up Abby Park. I’ve been serving Milton since ’93, let’s put it that way.

MP: What’s the best part about owning a business in Milton?

VW: The people are great. It’s a great demographic to work with. It’s a great place to run a restaurant. We have a lot of savvy diners who experiment with contemporary cuisine.

MP: Could you go into detail on that type of cuisine?

VW: We have a lot of variety on our menu; we try to be a restaurant for all reasons. We can be a special occasion restaurant; we do a lot of private dining, events. We also want to be an everyday restaurant for the locals. We’ve developed the menu over the years to try to fit the local palate.

MP: What is the local palate?

VW: We have a smart consumer here. One of the things we found is our customers are always looking for healthy options with a culinary twist to it…One of our No. 1 entrees is a former special that we ran with great success called the “skinny salmon.” It’s a healthy dish…we include a lot of super foods in our menu. Things a lot of customers appreciate here. We still sell a lot of Wagyu burgers. We try to appeal to a lot of different people.

MP: Have you seen the Milton dining landscape change since you opened in 2009?

VW: Of course. We opened around the same time that 88 Wharf opened. Steel & Rye came in last year. That’s been a great addition to the restaurant community.

MP: Could you see Milton becoming a new hot spot for dining?

VW: There’s definitely room for growth in our industry. We’re growing at a steady clip. That proves to us good restaurants can definitely work together to build a restaurant scene.

MP: Is Milton as a town helpful for small businesses?

VW: Historically, Milton had a reputation for being not so business-friendly. It was more of a residential community that really didn’t have a commercial base. Since we opened Abby Park that has changed. The local government has changed and the community has changed. If you ask a lot of your readers and people from the community, they’re very pleased with the direction, especially the restaurants additions to the town. It’s a convenience.

[In 2007],  [Money Magazine] ranked Milton No. 7 as the best town in the country to live in. One of the mentions in the article was there were no destination-type restaurants. After we opened, the ranking went up to No. 2 (in 2011.)

MP: What’s your favorite menu item?

VW: I love selling the skinny salmon, but I love eating the short ribs.