Tim Halvorson Mixes Work and Family, with a Bit of Wit
by Rowan Beck,
June 3, 2010, page 13.....

Tim Halvorson is a cheerful man with a great dedication to family, community and business. He, with his wife Kristin, has lived here since 1995 while maintaining a growing business in Burlington. He was hesitant to move here at first because of the 30-minute commute, but he found the perfect house. “Most people would have bulldozed it, but it had great bones.”
The house was built in 1825, and Tim did most of the restoration himself. When asked how he did it and his marriage survived, he replied, with a huge grin and a twinkle in his eye, “My wife was very patient about not having a kitchen.” The house is located near Baptist Corners, which was part of the safe route for the Underground Railroad. He also recently restored and renovated the old carriage house as a home for his parents, Larry and Jackie Halvorson.
“I was opposed to living so far and felt restricted by the distance,” Tim said referring to the decision to live in Charlotte. “But my commute up Spear Street is so pretty.” Also, with three children he realized that he didn’t go in at night as much. “Let’s face it, having kids there’s something going on every night!”
Over the past ten years he has seen Charlotte become more of a bedroom community for Burlington with all the improvements to Route 7. He is often amazed at how Burlington has really become an employment center to so many surrounding towns. “Everything in a 45-minute radius has become a bedroom community.”
Tim’s family is originally from Shelburne and moved back to the area from Pasadena, California, in 1978 when he attended Johnson State. His parents started what is now Halvorson’s Upstreet Café on the Church Street Marketplace, which was originally called Elizabeth’s Candy Shop and was a simple sandwich shop. In 1983 Tim became involved in the business and bought his father out in 1986. Then substantial changes were made. His father continued to work with him for awhile but was ready to move on. Throughout Tim’s ownership of Halvorson’s he has had several hundred if not thousands of employees. But it continues to be a family business. “If you like your family and all get along it’s good to work with them. It’s nice to go to work and still be with the gang. My daughter works here and both my sons help during the fair.” Tim runs the beer and wine garden and a food concession at the Champlain Valley Fair.
Through working at Halvorson’s Tim got very involved in jazz. He used to feature bands on Thursday nights, which is how he met local jazz legend Big Joe Burrell. “He started coming with the Unknown Blues Band. He needed the dough and would come by and sit in, listen, and eventually we started to have him front bands.” Tim and Joe grew to be great friends. “He would come in three to four times a week for coffee and we’d shoot the breeze.”
Tim also got involved with the original board of directors for the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. The festival was started 26 years ago as a way to keep business moving in the downtown during June, traditionally a slow period. “Nothing really happened. Now it’s solid from graduations and the Marathon.” On June 4, the opening day of this year’s Jazz Festival, a statue in tribute to Big Joe will be unveiled in front of Halvorson’s. Tim helped in some of the efforts at fundraising and finding a sculptor, but Big Joe’s nephew Leon Burrell and Toni Trombley, Leon’s wife, spearheaded the project.
Other musicians who played at Halvorson’s during their early days included Phish and Grace Potter.
Tim has been honored in many ways throughout Burlington’s business community, and he continues to create opportunity and find ways to help others. He has served on countless boards, and was the chair of the boards of COTS, the Burlington Business Association and the Church Street Marketplace. Governor Jim Douglas recently appointed him Vice Chair of the Vermont Downtown Development Board. “Economics and historic preservation collide,” is how Tim refers to it. The board organizes grants to maintain the status quo of downtowns. Vermont has realized the strength of downtowns and their importance in the tourism industry. “People want to see the quaint Vermont town. We provide money for façade stuff, sprinklers, sidewalks, handicapped parking and promote smart growth. We want to keep downtowns strong and alive.”
Tim, Kristin, and another partner have recently begun Church Street Wine Cellars, located at 2 Church Street, but he has really stepped out that business. One can see how busy he is between boards, Halvorson’s, restoring an old house, and raising three children. He and Kristin have been married for 20 years. This year their youngest will be graduating from Charlotte Central School and joining his older brother at Champlain Valley Union High School. His daughter will be attending the University of Vermont in the fall. Tim hopes she will continue to work at Halvorson’s. Despite all of his work, he is a family man. He loves having his parents in the attached carriage house. “It’s good for everyone; it gives everyone a little freedom,” he says with a smile.