You’ve probably driven along Route 10 North to Southwick hundreds of times, but have you ever noticed that we have a real live “Moon Cusser” right here in town? That’s right, in the person of Mark Brady, we have just that. What’s a Moon Cusser? Well, I’ll get to that in a minute.
I stopped into Brady’s kitchen remodeling business out of curiosity, and what I found was a unique place with a Moon Cusser theme and a flair for the pirate spirit that lurks inside many of us!
Brady, owner of Mark Brady Kitchens at 490 Salmon Brook Street, is not your typical kitchen remodeling designer/contractor. In fact, his place of business bears little resemblance to a kitchen showroom. Over the front door is a sign welcoming you to Moon Cusser’s, and the front yard is a cinder block formation made to resemble a pirate vessel, complete with cannon, yardarm and treasures from the seven seas. The deck of the vessel is made of beach sand, and Brady had hidden buried treasures there for clients, friends, and family to discover.
Inside the front door, Brady introduced me to his theme room, laden with artifacts, wall hangings, lanterns, swords, pirate masks and pirate story books. The floor surface depicts a room-sized map of Cape Cod, including compass references and old-world points of interest. There are countless artifacts from sea bearing vessels, most of which take one back to visions of the high seas, pirate ships, and yes, the time of the Moon Cussers. For a kitchen design and remodeling business showroom, this one just knocked me over.
Brady invited me in to see his office and work areas, which continued with the theme of his great room, and showed the creative flair with which he has fashioned his business. Even the restroom was completely redone and was immersed in the spirit of the seven seas. There was so much detail in each restoration, that Brady clearly spent an enormous number of hours creating and shaping each detail to perfectly match his imaginative style. He smiled broadly as he showed me each area, and I could see a boyish gleam in his eye as he discussed every detail.
So, what is a Moon Cusser? Well, Brady explained that in the late 1600s, pirates would cripple actual light houses along the Cape Cod coast. They would then light bonfires along the beaches. Sea-going ships with cargoes would mistake the fires for actual light house beams and would run aground. The pirates would make easy work of them, plundering and pillaging the precious cargos aboard. Of course, this nefarious work was best conducted on dark nights. Therefore, when the moon was shining brightly, the pirates would “cuss the moon” because it ruined their plans for plunder. So, to this day, there are lots of bars and restaurants named Moon Cussers to carry on the raucous spirit of these legendary characters who ruled the coast lines of New England.
Brady, a businessman who has been in the kitchen design and remodeling business since the age of 16, has always been a creative thinker. His office walls are covered with manual scheduling boards, and his shop work areas are organized and ready for action. He is a technical school graduate who has melded construction, design and customer friendly skills into his company, including a heavy influence in the Walt Disney organization’s approach to quality customer service, having attended the Disney institute several years ago. From his early roots in Meriden, he has crafted or remodeled kitchens for customers all over southern New England, landing in Granby about three years ago. He relies heavily on local advertising and of course, references from satisfied customers.
When I asked Brady how he came to create the Moon Cusser-themed showroom he told me that he loves to bring customers into that room, explore design ideas, and have a little fun thinking outside the normal kitchen design box with them. According to Brady, customers relax and enjoy the playfulness of the location, and this facilitates discussions about what kind of kitchen they really want. He said, “I want this place to be like an Easter egg hunt, where people will always have a place to find things and be surprised.”
When the design is settled, Brady takes his customer shopping for the actual fixtures and appliances they will use. These shopping trips add to the fun and Brady has vendors in the local area that understand his business model and invite customers to have fun selecting their individual items to fit Brady’s designs. This is a business model that has worked for Brady for more than 30 years, and the Moon Cusser showroom is the latest spin on finding the right customer and matching them with the right design. You can’t really argue with the unique approach because Brady surely brings a lot of joy to the process.
As an added portrait of this Granby business owner, aside from his love and fascination with pirate lore, Mark Brady is also a very spiritual person. He presently serves as a pastor for the North Canaan Congregational Church and describes his ministry there as a story that unfolds each week in his sermons. Even as we talked, he was preparing to host a five-church revival meeting the following Sunday, a daunting task for anyone, but no doubt something that Brady approached as a labor of love.
My visit to Mark Brady’s Kitchens turned out to be very different than I had pictured in my mind. It started with a tour of a pirate paradise lair, transitioned to a lesson in Moon Cussing, then a short course in kitchen design and remodeling, and finished with a quiet conversation about life in general with a contemplative, thoughtful and creative resident of our town. If you get a chance, swing by Brady’s place and say hello. You might get lucky and find a little treasure there yourself.