Alice Brock, of “Alice’s Restaurant” fame, died on Nov. 21. She was 83. She and her husband Ray Brock lived in a deconsecrated church in Great Barrington, Mass., which became a bohemian gathering place. From 1965 through ’79, Brock ran three restaurants in the Berkshires (The Back Room, Take-Out Alice, and Alice’s at Avaloch). Arlo Guthrie was arrested for illegal dumping at The Back Room, which inspired his song/monologue (and later, movie, which Brock disliked) “Alice’s Restaurant” (“Walk right in it’s around the back/Just a half a mile from the railroad track/You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant”). Brock wrote recently on her website, “After being in the restaurant business for many years I finally came back to Provincetown…my heart’s true home. I used to say, ‘When I grow up I want to live in Provincetown and paint pictures.’ I guess My dreams have come true . . . My health may not be good but my spirit is alive and kickin’ and cookin’.”
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