Three in the Nest is serving a range of baked and cafe-style treats that can be washed down with a wide range of teas, coffees and other choices at the location that previously housed The Root on Route 101 in Temple. 

“My personal background is full of family, meals full of nutritious food, organic gardening, homemade lunches for my three children, catering events for friends and family and intimate corporate luncheons,” said Rhonda Zoch.

Zoch is local, and previously lived in Rye. She was contemplating a venture such as a food truck in the area for a while, then some stars aligned.

“The very serendipitous opportunity arose to rent this beautiful historic barn. Christie Hannigan and I, along with our adult children, met for weeks. We immediately knew that our visions aligned in terms of community, food and health,” said Zoch. 

Zoch’s previous food endeavor involved creating soups and cookies for customers interested in healthy choices. Three in the Nest is a family affair.

“My son Oscar and his wife, Taylor, have opened and managed restaurants in Brattleboro and Stowe, Vt., and my daughter Gracie is a baker who sold her beautiful baked goods at the farmers’ market in Texas,” Zoch said. “With my three adult children now so close to us, we wanted to start this business together.”

Kaiden and Maija Massey have stayed on to help with the transition in these first weeks and months.

Zoch’s children also provided the name for the cafe and bakery. Earlier, the family lived in Texas, where Zoch owned a Waldorf-based toy store called Three in the Nest.

“All natural toys -- no plastic, no batteries. My three children were the inspiration for the name of that store,” said Zoch, who is taking the same approach to food preparation. “We want to provide organic meals to the Monadnock region and its visitors as best we can while supporting and showcasing our amazing farmers and their local produce, meat and poultry.”

Zoch takes her commitment to the term “organic” seriously.

“We do not use any synthetic food dyes, seed oils and we research extensively to source the best ingredients we can,” she said.

The interior of Three in the Nest offers choices of large, leather chairs and sofa or wooden tables sporting fresh flowers under a woody cathedral ceiling. Picture windows look back upon outdoor seating and a fire circle framed by what looks like a stone foundation of a structure now gone, and a pellet stove in a corner can keep things in winter.

On a recent Friday, temptations such as praline pecan scones with brown butter and maple glaze (gluten-free)  cherry pistachio biscotti and coffee rolls with frosting swirled on top seemed to be in demand based on what people were ordering. In addition to coffee choices such as drip, Americano and espresso, the tea list includes spicy hibiscus energy and decaffeinated options such as rooibos and Lion’s Heart, which is chrysanthemum, hawthorn, lemon balm, rose and tulsi. 

Rather than offer sandwiches, which Zoch says are already available in the area, they are experimenting with tartines, which are smaller, open-faced sandwiches popular in France that have already been well received. 

In order to help people fuel up for their days, Zoch starts hers in the kitchen by 6 a.m., preparing tartelettes, specials and the soups. Daughter Grace helps out with kolaches and cinnamon rolls, and Taylor comes in to prepare croissants and scones. There may be more on offer soon.

“We have a fledgling market to supply day-trippers, hikers and those on the go with specialty goods for picnics, grazing boards and grab-and-go meals. We plan to include artisanal cheeses, wine and local beer. We are excited to eventually include local handmade goods, as well,” said Zoch.

Zoch noted bigger plans for next month.

“We are going to try dinners once a month starting in June. If that goes well, we may think about increasing that to once a week,” said Zoch.

Three in the Nest is already woven in the community in another respect. On Fridays, Sarah Ledger comes in to bake cookies as part of her community service. All proceeds from Sarah’s Cookies go to the Lukas Community, a residential facility in Temple for individuals with developmental challenges.

Whether it’s Ledger’s cookies or the scones, Kyle and Ryan Morse found the fare worth a drive from Amherst.

“We really like the setting,” they said. “The intentionality of the energy and the quality draw us here.”

Sam Schwanke, a real estate agent with Keller Williams in Jaffrey likes to meet his clients there.

“It’s a great spot of nature to hang out in between (house) showings,” he said.

Zoch noted that she is very grateful to Christie Hannigan and her family for trusting them with the space and opportunity, as well as the rave reviews and messages of encouragement they’ve been receiving. She remains focused on her mission.

“In a world in which we are inundated with toxins at every turn, we're hoping to do our part in  providing clean food, eco-friendly to-go containers, and a little bit of beauty into the everyday,” she said