Jill Fishman 03F Opens ‘Queer-Woman-Owned’ Brunch Restaurant and Bar

Dreamhouse serves rotating dishes made with ingredients from local growers, such as summer inspirations like local peach pancakes, fried green tomato bennies, and sweet corn ice cream with blueberry jam, alongside handcrafted cocktails that are equally inventive: bourbon peach smash, kir royale with fresh currants, and blueberry basil spritzer.

What originally attracted you to Hampshire?

Growing up in California, I always knew I wanted to go to college in the Northeast. My uncle Scott Fishman 77F had gone to Hampshire, so it was on my radar. I got into a bunch of schools across the state, but ultimately I decided to go to Hampshire based on a gut feeling that it was where I was supposed to be. The possibilities seemed endless for me there.

You studied women’s health and HIV here. Did that have an impact on what you’ve done since graduation?

It has impacted every part of my life. My Div III was a sex-education curriculum that promoted consent and communication as a safer sex strategy, along with condoms and birth control pills. I spent so much time researching and theorizing about the power of communication, risk, and trust. Those values formed the foundation of who I am.

“I think the sense of having possibilities that I felt when choosing Hampshire has actually been the most lasting effect. . . Without the idea that anything is possible, I never could have considered opening this restaurant, which simultaneously blows up and reinvents everything we know about the industry.”

How did you end up working in restaurants and then opening your own place?

I started working in restaurants when I was 14. While at Hampshire, I worked at Luna Pizza (RIP) in Northampton. I actually wrote a good deal of my thesis there and thanked the owner and staff in my dedications for being my sounding board and support system.

I honestly never really thought I’d open my own place. After the COVID lockdown, many of my priorities shifted, and I decided that I no longer wanted to use any energy for something that wasn’t fully serving me, my family, and my values. It was December of last year that my wife, Adrixn, and I started thinking seriously about opening our own place.

Tell us about meeting Adrixn during the first week of orientation at Hampshire and what they do at Dreamhouse.

Adrixn lived [in the Merrill dorms] on A4 short and I lived on A1 short. I went whitewater kayaking for orientation, and Adrixn stayed on campus. When I came back, I had made a bunch of friends who all lived on A3 and 4, so we met through those connections. We’ve been best friends since that fall of 2003 and started dating in 2008. Adrixn does a lot of everything at the restaurant: coffee maven, baker, fixer of things, systems keeper, and creative director.

You created an intentionally LGBTQIA+ friendly space with the fabulous tagline “Boozy brunch in your queer aunt’s living room.”

We wanted to create a space that reflected us and our values. It was important to us that the space feel warm and welcoming and also unapologetically queer, anti-racist, anti-ableist, and pro-worker.

So much of the restaurant industry is plagued by exploitation, and there was no way I was going to perpetuate the abuse I experienced during my 25-year career. We pay all of our staff $27/hour (including me and Adrixn) and are working toward our benefits package and profit sharing. Healthy, stable, and sustainable employment for our staff is our number one priority. With those things secured, the amazing food and service just came naturally to everyone. It's been really beautiful to watch.

I think the sense of having possibilities that I felt when choosing Hampshire has actually been the most lasting effect of my time there. Without the idea that anything is possible, I never could have considered opening this restaurant, which simultaneously blows up and reinvents everything we know about the industry.