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Not Your Typical Haunt

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Built in 1902, the building housing Theodores’
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Theodores’ Thrives with Its Blend of Music, Barbecue, and Tradition

Keith Makarowski, left, and Keith Weppler

Keith Makarowski, left, and Keith Weppler say Theodores’ has become many things to many different kinds of customers.

The institution on Springfield’s Worthington Street known as Theodores’ is noted for many things — from the blues played on its stage to the barbecue smoked in its kitchen, to the pool hall upstairs where some of that food is enjoyed, said to be the oldest continuously operating billiards establishment in the country.
But lately, it seems the real story is the ghost, or ghosts, that some employees and a few odd patrons say they’ve heard or felt wandering the century-old landmark in the heart of the city’s entertainment district.
There were enough of those stories going around to prompt the producers of the TV show Ghost Hunters to stop by, take a look around, and get some readings back in 2008, roughly a decade after Keith Makarowski and Keith Weppler, who once worked together at Houlihan’s in Connecticut, acquired the place.
“They picked up some noises in the basement and also picked up some heat sensors from what they feel were apparitions,” said Makarowski, referring to the show’s team of experts. “There was some evidence, I guess, of random spiritual bodies.”
While not entirely in the believers’ category when it comes to the purported poltergeists, Makarowski and Weppler can’t dismiss the notion, either. They’ve both heard enough to create doubts.
“We were downstairs counting out the money one time; it was probably 2 or 3 in the morning,” said Weppler as he and his partner talked with BusinessWest at a table in the pool hall. “A few staff members from Theodores’ and the two bartenders from up here came down. We heard someone walking around, and we also heard some stools moved across the floor. We thought the door was unlocked and someone had gotten up there, but when we went to investigate, there was no one, and all the chairs had been set up on the tables for the next day.”
Said Makarowski, “I’ve never seen anything, but I’ve been here when some odd things that just can’t be explained have happened  — like things crashing, and then there’s no mess, and footsteps when there’s no one in the building.”
While the partners will find a few minutes to dwell upon the possible paranormal activity, they acknowledge that it’s somewhat old news. And besides, they’re generally much too busy tending to what is now a multi-faceted business operation.
Indeed, in 2002, the two acquired the pool hall (Smith’s, or Smitty’s, as it’s often called, named after the original owner of the property, Fred Smith), and purchased J.T.’s sports bar on Main Street a year later, giving them a sizable presence in downtown Springfield, where, said Weppler, business owners have to take advantage of every opportunity given to them, and ride out the many challenges.
At Theodores’, the former category involves everything from the business crowd at lunch and after work (which has been steady over the years) to the families that come downtown for Falcons and Armor Games and assorted Disney shows, to the eclectic constituency that gathers in the entertainment district on Thursday ‘bike nights’ in the summer. And then, there are those who want to hear some blues, as offered by the likes of Johnny Winter, Rod Piazza, Luther Allison, and countless others over the years.
Opportunity even came in the form of the freak October snowstorm in 2011, said Makarowski, noting that many cooped-up area residents needed a break from their four walls and found that at Theodores’, as well as working outlets with which to charge their electronic devices.
As for challenges, they include everything from the natural gas explosion last fall, which shut down the club for roughly a day and half during Thanksgiving weekend, one of its busiest of the year, to ongoing, yet unsuccessful to date, efforts to close downtown clubs at 1 p.m.
“It’s all part of doing business,” said Weppler, referring to items in both categories. “We tend to focus on all the great things that downtown can offer and try to key on those positives and build sales from the events that are already happening downtown. You just have to adapt, change, stay focused, and do the best you can to give people a great experience.”
For this, BusinessWest’s annual Restaurant Guide and its focus on landmark institutions, we look at an establishment that certainly isn’t your typical haunt in any way, shape, or form.

The Spirit Moves Them

Built in 1902, the building housing Theodores’

Built in 1902, the building housing Theodores’ has a lot of history — and a number of ghost stories — that only add character to the menu.

As he talked with BusinessWest about the property on Worthington Street, built in 1902, Weppler got up from his seat, went behind the service counter at the pool hall, and reached down for a dust-covered, framed photograph.
“That’s the Smith bowling team,” he said, motioning to a group of a half-dozen men standing and sitting around some bowling pins who practiced their craft on the fourth and fifth floors of the building, where there were alleys for more than a half-century. (Some of those aforementioned ghost stories involve hearing balls rolling down a lane decades after the alleys closed.)
There was no date on the photograph, but further commentary offered some hints.
“This was bowling before electricity,” said Makarowski. “You would bowl, and I would set up the pins and roll the ball back to you, and I’d bowl, and you’d set up up the pins.”
There is quite a bit of history to discuss when it comes to this property — and science (well, sort of), if you count the ghosts — but Makarowski and Weppler are far more interested in talking about the present and future in downtown Springfield, and, more specifically, their future.
They believe they’re well-positioned to take advantage of the positive developments that have taken place downtown and specifically in the entertainment district, and are withholding most comments about whether a casino will change the equation in the central business district if one goes there — and even if one is built in West Springfield or Palmer.
At Theodores’, they’re concentrating on taking full advantage of the establishment’s location, tradition, and ability to serve a host of constituencies.
“Theodores’ wears a lot of different hats for a lot of different people,” said Weppler, taking a phrase generally reserved for individuals and applying it to a restaurant and blues club. “For many business people, it’s a place to come for lunch, or after work, or for celebrations. For families, it’s a place to go before events at the MassMutual Center, and for other people, it’s a place to get great barbeque or listen to music. We’re a lot of things, and that’s what makes us successful.”
It had been this way since the late ’70s when it opened, and Weppler was well aware of all this as he became a consistent customer while working at the former Spaghetti Warehouse, just a few blocks away on Congress Street, in the mid-’90s.
Eventually, Weppler took on some shifts bartending at Theodores’, and as the restaurant’s owner, Teddy Rauh, closed in on retirement, he picked up more managerial assignments. When one attempted sale of the property fell through, the two commenced discussions about Weppler taking it over.
He approached Makarowski about going into business together, and the two acquired the restaurant and the property in 1999.
The blues music served up five nights a week is a huge part of Theodores’ identity and a major contributor to its success — it was named best blues club in the country  by the Memphis-based Blues Foundation in 2004 — but there are many ingredients in this recipe for success, as indicated by the main marketing slogan, ‘booze, blues, & BBQ.’
The menu is broad, with everything from burgers to steaks; jambalaya to chicken and sausage étouffée; sandwiches to salads. But the barbeque dominates the discussion.
And the process for smoking meat — from chicken to brisket, as well as the signature ribs, which come in three varieties — is much more of an art than a science, said Weppler.
“It’s never the same from one day to the next,” he said of the task of smoking a wide array of meats. “From the amount of the wood to the weight of the meat … it’s different every single day.
“Pork and brisket take 12 hours to smoke, and we’re literally putting it in every night and taking it out every day,” he went on. “We only smoke a limited amount of stuff, so when we run out, we run out.”
There is even a warning, of sorts, about these limited quantities right on the menu. “It is likely that on most days we will run out of certain items,” it reads. “Get here early or leave hungry.” Most regulars understand, and heed those instructions.
Meanwhile, the pool hall is now a big part of the mix, said the partners, noting that, while that descriptive phrase still works, the large room is not exactly that anymore.
That’s because there are simply fewer people playing that sport than decades ago, a statistical reality that explains why they have taken several tables out (seven remain, which they say is more than enough) and added such games as darts and foosball, brightened things up a bit, and made the second floor a venue for after-work gatherings, Christmas parties, and other get-togethers.
“When we first purchased it, this was an old-style Color of Money- or The Hustler-like pool hall,” said Makarowski, referring to two billiards-focused Paul Newman movies. “It was dingy, with a lot of classic players. But as those guys got older and pool fell off, we had to change and adapt and give it a fresh look and feel.”
Smith’s now focuses on craft beers — there are a few dozen on tap every day — and providing an atmosphere conducive to that wide array of events. Overall, it has become an important part of the bigger picture, said Weppler.

And on that Note …
As noted earlier, Weppler and Makarowski are not entirely believers when it comes to the many ghost stories concerning their establishment.
But they are firm believers in their landmark’s place not only in Springfield’s history, but in its future, thanks to the many hats it wears and the many constituencies it serves.
“We’ve always focused on just trying to have good food, good service, and good atmosphere,” Weppler said of the operating philosophy at Theodores’. “As long as we take care of the customers, we’ll have customers.”

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

All Aboard

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Robin Lamothe says the Steaming Tender is a destination.
Restaurants Sections
Steaming Tender Mixes Hearty Food and Railroad Culture

Robin Lamothe says the Steaming Tender is a destination.

Robin Lamothe says the Steaming Tender is a destination.

Robin and Blake Lamothe like to dig through history — literally. And 26 years ago, they came across a historical project they couldn’t pass up.
“My husband was a general contractor; he restored historic homes and buildings, and he was also an antique restorer of Model A cars,” Robin Lamothe said. One day, while driving through Palmer, he discovered a Romanesque-style train station, built in 1884 based on a design by renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
In 1987, the run-down station was “a hodgepodge of businesses — a diner, a pool hall, a judo studio, a mechanic shop,” she told BusinessWest. “It didn’t look too pretty, but, being a restorer, he could see the inner beauty of the building and its potential. Then he saw the for-sale sign.”
So they purchased the building, intending to convert it to an antique co-op. “We had done our research, and because this was a historical property, we thought we could get some grant monies,” Lamothe said. “But in the late ’80s and early ’90s, those programs were getting cut, so we were left to do it ourselves. That’s why it took so long.”
She referred to the 17 years it took to restore and reopen the station — not as an antique store, but as the Steaming Tender restaurant, a railroad-themed eatery tucked alongside an active rail line.
“Neither one of us has a restaurant background,” she said. “As I said, my husband is a general contractor, and my background is in the marketing and advertising business; I was an event planner and coordinated events.”
Those backgrounds, however, meshed well for their current endeavor. The restaurant, which opened in 2004, is a mix of hearty American food and rail culture; train-related artifacts and antiques line the walls throughout, from the large bell overhanging the bar to a stack of century-old luggage near the entryway — not to mention the vintage train cars sitting outside.
“We’re consistently trying to reinvent ourselves, so that our customers come in and always find something new,” said Lamothe, who runs the day-to-day operations at the Steaming Tender. “We’re always being creative. If we find antiquities that we feel would fit with the restaurant, we bring them in.”
It’s all part of what the Lamothes hope will be not just a meal for patrons, but an experience. “People travel in from Boston, New York … they make it a trip. We’re a destination restaurant.”

Training Their Sights

The restored 1909 parlor car

The restored 1909 parlor car on the property is used for special events, from company meetings to bridal showers.

It was a destination of sorts for the couple as well, who lived in the Worcester area when they discovered the property in 1987.
“We lived in Spencer at the time, commuting back and forth, and that was getting hard, so we found a house and moved here,” Robin said.
The property they bought was filled with antiques — much of which she characterized as “junk” — but it had potential. So they started selling items out of the old station to help fund the restoration. “It was flashlight shopping, and we had no water line. And it rained in here more than it rained outside.”
As the restoration progressed, including major roof and structural work, they intended to continue the antique sales as a business model. “But it slowly evolved into a restaurant,” Lamothe said. They first planned to lease the property to a restaurateur, “but nobody could envision the dream we had, so we ended up doing it ourselves.”
But the journey to that point was a long, 17-year slog. “We didn’t want the work to interfere with the integrity of the building,” she said, noting that Blake preserved much of the original floors and original brickwork. That’s the kind of pace that might turn frustrating, but Lamothe said they didn’t get discouraged.
“We always had a goal. It was taking a lot longer than we thought, but we never gave up,” she said. “Today, sitting in the dining room, I still can’t believe we’ve done this. It’s amazing. People come in and say they appreciate all the hard work we’ve done. This was a blank canvas for us. We did as much research as we could.”
That research left some gaps. But when their design choices — a style of window used in the interior, a paint color — later turned out to be historically accurate, the Lamothes considered it a sign that they were destined to take on this project.
The first iteration of the restaurant, in 2004, was an outdoor-seating, counter-service-only model, which allowed restoration work to continue uninterrupted inside. “It was a little kitchen with fried seafood, pub-style food,” she said. In the fall of 2005, the Steaming Tender converted to an indoor, sit-down establishment.
Lamothe described the cuisine at the Steaming Tender as “American flair” with a few ethnic styles mixed in, adding that “I’m open to anything that tastes good.” Baked lobster macaroni and cheese is a house favorite, a dual nod to the extensive pasta and seafood sections of the menu. Diners will also find a broad selection of salads, sandwiches, steaks, pork, and poultry, as well as plenty of appetizer and dessert options.
The highlight of the latter is the whiskey bread pudding, a staple from the early days that customers keep coming back for, Lamothe said. “We like watching their expressions: ‘oh my God, this is the best.’ It’s a phenomenal dessert. We sell pans of it around the holidays, and it’s becoming a tradition for some of the families.”
The key to the food quality, she said, is freshness. “We’re open five days a week, and we have seafood delivered three of those days. I’m always bringing in new product, keeping it fresh. I get trucks in every day, so I can keep the meats and produce fresh.”
Cleanliness is important too, she said. “We close on Monday and Tuesday, and those days are for maintainance, rethinking, cleaning, inventory, everything else … I probably work longer hours on Monday and Tuesday than when we’re open.”
And the bathrooms are not only clean, but works of art in their own right; each is adorned with hundreds of antique photos, mounted like a timeless, room-size scrapbook.

Off the Rails
Every aspect of the establishment, however, is dominated by trains. “Everything is railroad-themed,” Lamothe said, from the setting amid active rail lines to the antiques inside, to the overalls and red bandannas worn by the waitstaff.
With about 40 trains passing by each day, the Steaming Tender prints a schedule each morning, and Lamothe said the long, windowed wall parallel to the track is considered choice seating. “People want to know the schedule, so we have it on our website and give it as a handout. The peak time is between 1:30 and 3, when Amtrak passes, and the conductor gets off and does the track switching and maneuvering … it’s good for the rail fan.”
The Lamothes are always looking to buy old locomotives and cars to add to the ambiance outside the station, she added. “We bought a 1915 Porter steam locomotive as a marketing piece, and we bought a 1909 parlor car to hold private events and meetings. We do a lot of company meetings, bridal showers, and wedding rehearsal dinners in there.”
The restaurant’s location isn’t the most visible, at the terminus of the dead-end Depot Street off Route 20. “Many people still don’t know where we are, and we’re always tapping into new customers. That’s where my marketing background comes in. We’re always trying to get our name out there.”
Those efforts include a plethora of special events every month, from comedy shows to educational programs involving working trains. “Last week, we had a meet-the-engineer event. People got up close and touched the engine — we had about 60 people for that event. Another event, coming up on May 7, is a presentation my husband and I do on the history of the station. We have about 100 people signed up for that.”
The Lamothes have landed the occasional high-profile coup, like the day Good Morning America stopped by to film there. Other media outlets have done stories as well over the past decade. But mainly, marketing the Steaming Tender means constantly building buzz and positive word of mouth.
“We’re still getting the word out — about the architecture, the trains, the food,” she said. “There are a lot of positive things going on for us, and we play up all the components and build on that.”
For example, “we do holidays right here. Christmas is huge,” Lamothe said of the extensive decorations the staff puts up. “People have compared us to Disney World; we have music pumping out of the engine, and people feel like they’re coming somewhere special.”
Last year, that atmosphere included hundreds of nutcrackers on the tables and throughout the building, most purchased at Christmas Tree Shops, where store employees must have wondered who these shoppers were clearing out the entire stock, she recalled with a laugh.
This summer will feature a new draw to the old station: the restoration of the park and grotto originally designed by noted 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
“We’re down in an industrial area. This will never be manicured gardens, but we’re almost there,” Lamothe said. “We did some research and found out it was a Frederick Olmsted park buried in gravel. After about 20 years, we finally bought the piece from the railroad, and three years ago, we began excavating and restoring this park. We’ve uncovered the grotto, and we’ve got some granite curbing to shape the park, and we’re in the midst of laying topsoil now so we can get some nice grass.”
It’s a natural progression, she said, from the fact that locals already come out on the weekends to sit along the roadway and watch the trains pass. “Having a park will enhance that whole concept here.”

Rolling Along
Even as she recognizes the Steaming Tender’s somewhat nondescript location, Lamothe said she’s pleased that new customers are continually coming on board.
“Starting from nothing, being on a dead-end road, it’s amazing how much awareness there is out there,” she told BusinessWest. “And once people find us, the next thing you know, three days later, they’re back with a whole group of friends, wanting to show it off to people. People come in and say, ‘I can’t believe I’m in Palmer.’”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Center-stage Cuisine

By
Chip Kloc
Restaurants Sections
The Whately Inn Has Come a Long Way Since It Hosted Burlesque

Chip Kloc

Chip Kloc says the fire in 1984 was disruptive, but it ultimately proved to be an important turning point for the Whately Inn.

Stephen “Chip” Kloc III, chef and owner of the Whately Inn, remembers cooking dinner for his regular Wednesday-evening crowd back on Sept. 13, 1984.
The date is etched into his mind because what happened that night was unforgettable, and what’s happened since has become another important chapter in the long and intriguing history of this landmark establishment and family business.
“I noticed the ceiling — the paint was bubbling,” he recalled. “So I poked it, and a hole formed. I’m looking up, and all of a sudden it sounded like a train going through once the air got to it.”
‘It’ was a small fire that broke out in rafters dried by the intense heat generated by the broiler located below. The blaze went straight up a dormer, ignited the roof, and then proceeded to burn down from the second floor.
“There were probably 30 people in here at the time,” recalled Chip’s father, Steve, who followed his father, Steve Sr., into the restaurant business and eventually inspired the third generation to do the same. “But over the years, about 500 people have said they were at the inn that night.
“No one wanted to leave,” he continued, adding that there was a remarkable sense of calm amid the calamity. “Some people were saying, ‘oh, the fire’s just in the kitchen; it’ll be fine.’”
Several patrons left, but took their plates with them, said Chip, adding with a laugh that most people did, in fact, pay their bill.
With help from several fire departments, the first-floor kitchen, bar, and dining area were saved, but the entire second floor, except for the porch deck, was a loss. A renovation that took more than a year to complete provided a new, 75-seat second-floor banquet room where there had been none.
Though devastating for the Klocs, the fire turned out to be a pivotal turning point for the inn, which today focuses much more on quality cuisine and banquets and weddings — a far cry from its former role as a home for burlesque shows that played out on a stage that is now part of the dining room (more on that later).
These days, the excitement is in the delectable flavor and value of traditional American cuisine with French influences that Chip Kloc has perfected over his three decades learning and working alongside his father.
From the rack of lamb dijonaise to the broiled jumbo shrimp Francoise to the house specials of broiled filet mignon, beurre noisette, and prime rib, fine cuisine now takes center stage.
For this Restaurant Guide’s focus on landmark institutions in the Pioneer Valley, BusinessWest toured the historic inn that markets itself with the slogan ‘eat greatly at the Whately,’ and spoke with this father-and-son team about the establishment’s evolution and the family’s ability to capture and keep a following that is hungry and loyal, no matter the state of the economy.

Back in the Day

The Whately Inn’s historic dining room

The Whately Inn’s historic dining room features a stage area that showcased burlesque dancers in the 1950s and 1960s.

To help him provide a history lesson, Chip Kloc summoned a yellowed print advertisement for the Whately from January 1966. It hyped floor shows, including burlesque entertainment with comedians as emcees, as well as dinner and dancing in the the Rainbow Room. Boiled lobsters were priced at $1.50.
In addition to underscoring the rate of inflation over the past 47 years, the clipping begins to tell the story of how much has changed at this landmark on Chestnut Plain Road.
Popular from the 1860s to the 1940s, burlesque featured bawdy comedy and female striptease in cabarets and clubs, as well as theatres, and the Whately Inn was one of the few in the region to present the spicy form of amusement.
Chip was 6 in the mid-1960s and can remember the crowds.
“I used to sell the girls towels for 25 cents as they were coming off the stage,” he said with a laugh, noting that this stage still stands in the main dining room, next to the historic fireplace. “It sure was a destination back then.”
To explain how it became one, the Klocs went back further in time, to the years just after World War II ended, when Steve Sr. made his foray into the hospitality industry with two restaurants — the Williams House in Williamsburg and the Rainbow Club in Haydenville. The latter, which was destroyed by fire in the mid-’50s, was in many ways an inspiration for the Whately Inn, which the elder Kloc acquired later that decade.
“People used to come in here [to the Whately Inn] and say how much they loved the Rainbow Club,” said Chip, adding that this affection was spawned by the food and the entertainment, both of which were brought to the Whately by his grandfather and father.
Steve Jr. cut his teeth in the business at a popular restaurant and dance hall on the Connecticut River in South Hadley called the River Lodge, later renamed the Riverboat. He would essentially recreate that establishment’s menu at the Whately, which was sold by his father in 1969, beginning more than a decade of sharp decline for the landmark in terms of both its physical state and popularity.
Steve Jr. watched this downward spiral from afar, as co-owner (with his father and others) of other restaurants, including the Captain’s Table in Northampton. “The roof over the stage had collapsed because of snow,” he recalled, adding that, by the mid-’70s, the inn was in terrible condition.
“It was awful,” added Chip, “but the second owners after my grandfather sold it fixed it up a bit and restored it. The bar, the chandelier, and the front door are all handmade from trees in Whately.”
These owners were not able to turn the eatery’s financial fortunes around, however. And when they put the landmark on the market in 1980, Steve Kloc Jr. saw an opportunity to turn back the clock while also focusing on the future.

Holding Steady
While the fire in September 1984 was in most ways a setback, Chip and Steve both described it as a blessing in disguise because it pushed them to make updates to decades-old electrical wiring, put in four larger hotel rooms where there had originally been six, and add a second-floor banquet room.
When it reopened in 1985, the inn was a more flexible and responsive player in the hospitality sector, with fine dining, a banquet facility, and a hotel. And it has taken full advantage of this attractive mix of services.
With most customers coming from within a 50-mile radius, the inn has thrived through its regulars, those who have heard about it though word-of-mouth referrals and want to experience it, and a growing banquet business. The main key to its success is repeat business.
“Many people come at least once a month, and one couple has been coming every Sunday since the fire,” said Chip, noting that, during the recession, when other hospitality-related businesses were suffering or closing, the Whately Inn held steady.
“There was a decline, but nothing that seriously affected us,” Chip explained. “We’ve built this business consistently over the years, and we’ve been growing little by little every year. After the fire, there was maybe a little bit of a rush, but overall it’s been consistent growth.”
Since the recession, however, Steve has seen customers give more attention to the value they are getting with everything they buy.
“Some people look at our menu and say we’re expensive,” he said, “but if you look at what you get, we’re very reasonably priced.”
Specifically, what the Whately Inn is known for, besides its popular French-American traditional-style cuisine, is a five-course, prix fixe dinner, including appetizer or soup of the day, salad, potato, vegetable of the day (usually in season, fresh, and local), gourmet entrée, choice of dessert, and coffee.
Historically, the two most popular dishes have been the 12-ounce filet mignon and the 18- to 24-ounce prime rib for $30.95. Meanwhile, there is one item generally not found anywhere else — frog legs from Bangladesh and Thailand.
“We sell 30 pounds per month,” said Chip. “No one sells them anymore so we have them for the customers that want them.”
“We’ve had the same menu since day one,” Steve added. “We add daily and weekend specials every week, but the old menu has been good for us; it’s what brings the people back.”
The dining room holds 120, and on an average Saturday night, Chip and his staff will serve between 250 to 300 patrons. On holidays, reservations are made months in advance, and a typical Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, or Easter will attract 600 to 700 diners.

Just Desserts
In addition to consistent, quality cuisine, Chip said the Whately Inn’s employees are another key to success. One staffer has been with the Klocs since he was in high school, dating back to the Captain’s Table days in the 1970s. Chip’s mother, Fran, manages the bar, while his wife, Lisa, manages the dining room and schedules the waitstaff and any reservations. Chip’s brother Gary helps out as a waiter, and various other family members have pitched in over the years.
While Steve ‘officially’ retired this past January, when not in Florida, he still can be found helping out in the kitchen.
In his new role as the president of the family business, Chip said the goal is to keep the last three decades of fine dining and value steady, so loyal customers can continue to ‘eat greatly at the Whately.’

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

It’s a Family Fare

By
William Kavanaugh
Restaurants Sections
Tucker’s Serves American Cuisine the Old-fashioned Way

The Andersons and Evan Mattson, center

The Andersons and Evan Mattson, center, say that Tucker’s is not just a family-run restaurant, but a legacy of the chef’s professional career.


There are a few jobs that define Michael Anderson’s professional career as a head chef, but one that perhaps has the most significance was as a dishwasher.
Indeed, while scrubbing in the sinks at Storrowton Tavern & Carriage House in West Springfield, Anderson said he gained what he called the “building blocks” for a long legacy on the other side of the kitchen.
“I felt such a sense of camaraderie between the cooks and the waitstaff,” he told BusinessWest. “There was longevity in that kitchen — people worked there for over 30 years; it wasn’t seen as a stepping stone, where people say, ‘I’m only a waiter until I go on to a different field.’ These people were invested in it, and this was their life.”
But it wasn’t just the culinary bonhomie that attracted Anderson back then. It was the famous owner, William Kavanaugh — or ‘Tucker’ to his close friends and family — who became a mentor to the budding chef. Such was the impression made upon the young man that he said, “I knew way before I ever had a restaurant that his nickname would be its name one day.”
That day would not be in the immediate future, although Anderson said that, from the time he first put together a résumé as a chef, he knew that owning and operating was his goal. After learning the ropes on the line at Storrowton, ultimately becoming executive chef there, he catered for a few years until the call came that Yankee Candle wanted to open its own restaurant at the flagship store in South Deerfield, and the company wanted him to run the kitchen.
Opening Chandler’s Tavern in 1995, he said, was a good dry run for an aspiring restaurateur. “That was a real eye-opener,” he remembered, chuckling. “None of us quite knew what to expect. And when we first opened, we got blasted; we were doing 700 lunches a day.”
The 45-minute commute wasn’t very appetizing to Anderson, however, especially with a growing family. “It was right around the time our first daughter was born,” his wife and co-owner, Karen, said. “He came home one day and said, ‘I quit my job.’”
The man who always wanted to own his own spot wasn’t hanging up his pots to dry, though: right down the road from their home in Westfield, Anderson had spotted a derelict building for sale on College Highway in Southwick. “It took me only a couple of days to know that this was the place for my restaurant,” he said.
Today, Tucker’s sits across the street from that spot, in a building created for the husband-and-wife restaurateurs. Sitting down with BusinessWest, the Andersons were joined by Karen’s uncle, Evan Mattson, who is retired from his job owning an insurance agency. These days, he does the restaurant’s accounting, is the host, and rolls up his sleeves to tend bar on occasion.
The walls are cluttered with framed paintings by the couple’s children, Paige and Payton, making this truly a family affair.
But, of course, people come for the food, and there’s good reason for that. Anderson’s skills on the stove were honed over a lifetime of cooking, but they also hold the legacy of those mentors he had from his earliest days in a professional kitchen. ‘Tucker’ himself helped out in the earlier restaurant across the street, as proud as he could be, Mattson remembered.
And while the man who helped shape Anderson’s career isn’t around any longer to see his namesake thriving, he’s not far away: his portrait holds pride of place just inside the front door.

Dish Network
“I feel like I’m getting old when I say that I do things ‘old school,’ but you have to spend a lot of time to understand how the business works,” Anderson said.
“At Storrowton, I was with these guys every night on the line — you can’t learn these skills overnight,” he continued. “It takes years. And I still do things the same way now as they did then. They stuck to what they knew, and they were successful.”
While a student at Holyoke Community College studying culinary arts, Anderson said that one of his teachers was also his boss cooking at Storrowton. These lessons gave him the understanding of cooking solid fare from scratch. “Seasonally or otherwise, everything is made from your own recipes,” he said of his style. “Just like the way things used to be done.”
This level of integrity attracted the attention of the powers at Yankee Candle when they tapped him to run the kitchen at their new restaurant, and today, Anderson credits that experience as a firsthand look on how to market one’s culinary creations.
“They never stopped marketing at all,” he remembered. “Every week, there was some sort of event — not just dinner with Santa, there were Teddy Bear Teas, specials of every kind. It was fully gung-ho.”

William Kavanaugh

William Kavanaugh remains an inspiration for Michael Anderson, keeping watch from a wall at Tucker’s today.

But his only reservation was that he wanted his own kitchen, and when he saw the spot in Southwick, he said it “just clicked.”
“We didn’t have a big game plan, but we got the financing together,” he continued. “Karen was still working at MassMutual, which was a good comfort, because making a lot of money wasn’t my primary concern; I wanted to cook good food and do what I love.”
Today, Karen — who met Michael when she was busing tables at Storrowton — serves as the events manager, front-of-house scheduler, and occasional bartender; on this day, she also pulled a shift waiting tables at lunch. She said it was easy for a few years in the first Tucker’s location to pull down both jobs, but she agreed with her husband that it wasn’t the final destination for their restaurant.
After six years in the original location, the pair invested in some developable property across the street. “We always knew that we wanted to have banquet facilities,” she said, “something that was only possible at the other spot when we weren’t open for regular dining.”

Spicing It Up
Mattson joked that his wife sees him less often now than when he was running his insurance agency. But helping to run this family restaurant gives him an equal measure of pride.
“I look at all the comments that come in,” he said, “and I can honestly tell you that, on a scale of one to five, very, very seldom are they less than 4.8, which to me means that people recognize that this is quality food, they appreciate our service, and they like the value that they’re getting.”
Added to that dining experience is what the husband and wife hoped to create from the beginning of their dream — a space for events in Southwick. Two banquet rooms seat up to 150 people, and Karen mentioned that they see all manner of parties, from weddings and rehearsal dinners to showers and retirements.
Taking a cue from her husband’s years at Chandler’s, she said that Tucker’s has garnished its lunch and dinner menus with a regular series of special events. A wine dinner — five courses paired with different vintages — is staged four times per year (the next is expected in September), a comedy night held at similar intervals, and an increasingly popular beer dinner, with different brews paired with food. The recently opened Westfield River Brewing Co. is going to be on tap at Tucker’s — one of only a handful of eateries to feature the brand — and Karen said the next beer dinner should have these local suds served up with the specials.
But in a tough economy, all agreed that customers are seeking value, even though the menu at Tucker’s, running the scale from burgers to filet mignon, offers dinners at all price points. Responding to that, she said that the restaurant has offered special deals through Groupon, and in the last year has been offering customers the chance to redeem Big Y’s gold and silver coins as a coupon good for half off one of two dinners or lunches, respectively.
“Think about it,” she said. “Gas stations redeem them for 20 cents off a gallon of gas, but what is that, around two dollars?”
The emphasis, however, is and always will be on the food — Michael’s passion, and the main ingredient for Tucker’s success. There will be one additional foray into commerce outside the dining room, however — to bottle and market the spices he uses in his famous butternut squash recipe.

Natural Selection
The lessons learned in the kitchen at Storrowton are evident on the pages of Tucker’s menu, as he still likes to cook traditional, American-style dishes from scratch: Yankee pot roast, chicken pot pie, crab cakes, baked cod, sirloin au poivre, chicken cordon bleu, and many more. It’s honest fare served in a no-nonsense way, he said. “If I’m cooking fish, as one example, it has to be natural, some light seasoning —  just a good, fresh product. Not too much stuff on it. Keep it simple.”
And that philosophy carries over to all aspects of the business, from a family who understands that there can be a lot of heat in the kitchen if you don’t do things the right way.
“I love to cook, but to be able to sleep at night, I want to make sure that people get what they order,” Michael said. “When regulars call me to order food, they don’t ask the price, because they know I’m not going to jab them. There’s a sense out there, maybe, that restaurants put the screws to you, but that’s not a lot of restaurateurs. There are a lot of those people who are honest businesspeople making good food.”
And across the room, the portrait of ‘Tucker’ smiled over the conversation — a lasting legacy carried on by the protégé who adopted his ideas and made them his own. In Kavanaugh’s lifetime, he was proud to see what his former dishwasher had become.

A Mexican Adventure

By
Bill Collins gives Claudio Guerra
Restaurants Sections
Mama Iguana’s Was Designed to Create Memorable Experiences

Bill Collins gives Claudio Guerra

Bill Collins gives Claudio Guerra a ride to his car on the restaurant’s free pedicab.

Talk about fun.
In fact, that’s exactly what Claudio Guerra did as he described how and why he created Mama Iguana’s in Springfield just north of the Basketball Hall of Fame. The Mexican restaurant, which opened last June, is a much larger version of the Northampton eatery with the same name and has been so successful, there was standing room only on the patio all last summer.
Hand-painted pieces of original Mexican artwork in vivid colors surround a large, gleaming rectangular bar in the semi-enclosed outdoor spot that seats 100 and has an adjacent dining area where the mood is lively, thanks in part to lights in a rainbow of bright hues.
The fun-filled atmosphere that Guerra created continues inside the three-story restaurant, which was designed to embody the spirit that is at the heart and soul of the six other eateries he owns. “We really try. It doesn’t happen by accident — it’s a labor of love,” Guerra said as he talked to BusinessWest about a lifetime spent in the restaurant business, which began when he was about 10 years old and worked as a coat checker in his father’s Long Island eatery.
Over the course of several hours, Guerra unveiled the secrets of his past and present success. The journey hasn’t always been easy, and when the recession hit in 2008, he had to reinvent the way he did business. But laughter and openness are givens for him, as he enjoys life, truly loves fun, and is always on the hunt for a new spot to open another restaurant.
In addition to owning and operating Mama Iguana’s in Springfield and Northampton, Guerra owns Spoleto’s in Northampton and East Longmeadow and the Paradise City Tavern, Pizzeria Paradiso, and Spoleto’s Express, all in Northampton.
Although they encompass different moods, Mama Iguana’s was designed “to be super-casual for super fun. It has the right price and environment for today’s economic reality and is a place where people can feel comfortable and relax,” Guerra said.
It boasts the largest selection of tequila brands in the Northeast, and more than 200 bottles of high-quality, 100% blue agave sit behind the bar. Many come from small microbreweries Guerra discovered in Mexico, and people can join a Tequila Club, which allows them to keep track of the varieties they have tried; attend sessions of the resaurant’s Tequila University, which features owners or speakers from the breweries; and/or make reservations for tequila dinners, with a menu of foods matched with appropriate tequilas.
Guerra did a major renovation of the the interior and exterior of the former home of Onyx Fusion Bar and Restaurant (the old Basketball Hall of Fame). He felt it lacked warmth, so he spent countless hours and a significant amount of money changing the lighting to make the space more intimate; it now includes enormous, wrought-iron candelabras. He also brought artists in from Mexico and California to create original works that include panels, papier-mâché sculptures, and paintings to insure it had an authentic atmosphere.
Oversized imitation skeleton heads also abound. They reflect the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration held to honor deceased relatives, and include two skeleton figures seated on a full-size motorcyles across from the stairwell between the first and second floors.
Guerra also did away with the TV screens behind the bar (although major sporting events are still broadcast on a large pull-down screen) and replaced it with “fun artwork.” Many pieces were purchased on shopping expeditions in Mexico, including the head of an angel, which weighs about 150 pounds and is almost six feet in height.
Guerra points out a large wall mural painted by an artist he brought in from San Francisco. It’s a replica of a carving from Mayan ruins, and has four gods seated in a canoe with a day and night paddler, meant to represent the cycle of life.
“When people walk in, they know this is not a chain,” he said, adding that the three floors of the building often accommodate entirely different types of parties.
“We can have a bachelorette party on one floor, a doctor’s convention on another, and a sporting event on the main floor,” said Bill Collins, director of Operations. “We turned this into a place that is beautiful and festive and took advantage of its great infrastructure.”

Dedicated Commitment
However, it takes far more than lively décor to make an eatery a success, and Guerra has a recipe with many ingredients.
The most critical — along with exceptional food and atmosphere — is the way the customer is treated. “I haven’t met a person who hasn’t had the experience of walking into a restaurant and being seated at a less-than-desirable table when other tables were available,” Guerra said.
It’s something he won’t stand for, and says he does not believe in seating people so the wait staff have the opportunity to serve approximately the same number of clients. Instead, he rotates their shifts between the most popular tables, and says it is up to them to ask co-workers for help if it’s needed. “My philosophy is all about accomodating the customer, and they should always be seated at the best possible table,” he said. “We understand the art of pleasing people.”
Since he believes the philosophy and resulting behavior in any business must come from the top, he plays an active role in demonstating the principle. Recently a little girl seated with her family of six asked him if she could order a glass of Orangina. He told her they didn’t have it, but asked her to “hold on” for a few minutes. “I ran to the nearest store and bought a bottle. I enjoy doing fun things for people.”
Although he acknowledges it’s not possible to accommodate every request, “on any given night at Spoleto’s we are cooking dishes we haven’t had on the menu for 20 years because a customer asked for them,” he said.
Everyone who works for Guerra is schooled in the belief that it is their job to make the customer feel welcome. He says the difference between a memorable experience and one that leaves a person unsatisfied occurs the moment they are greeted at the door.
“When a person walks in and looks at the waitperson, the experience is won or lost in a millisecond according to whether the person looks miserable or cheerful,” he said. “I have spent my life studying the way a person approaches a table. It’s part of the social structure of a good restaurant, and although anyone can learn to serve food, not everyone has the ability to make people feel welcome.”
Guerra says he has wait staff who have worked for him for 10 years and never had a complaint. “It’s not because they didn’t make mistakes, which is especially true for a high-pressure hosting position,” he said. “You can tell the customer there is a 45-minute wait in a way that will make them laugh. But it’s an art. The science is at the back of the house.”
That’s where the food is prepared, and every night the Mexican moles, salsa, and other sauces at Mama Iguana’s are tasted by the chef, cook, manager, and Collins when he is on site before they are served. Guerra says the word ‘mole’ means to chop, and every village in Mexico has their own version of the sauce.
“Our moles are the heart of our kitchen and have incredibly complex flavors with at least 25 ingredients, which can includes seeds, nuts, and dried peppers,” he said. They are used in a variety of ways, and a dish called Holy Mole with pulled chicken, pork, and sautéed vegetables is topped with three mole sauces. The menu is Tex-Mex, and prices average between $10 and $14 for an entrée.

Business Lesson
Guerra was born in Germany and immigrated to the U.S at age 3 with his family. His father found work as a waiter in New York City before opening a French eatery on Long Island. A short time later, his mother opened a German restaurant, and then his parents opened an Italian restaurant together.
Guerra was always in the restaurants, and graduated from checking coats to busing tables to dishwashing and eventually cooking. After graduating from high school, he served as an apprentice to a cook in an elite French restaurant in Europe. When he returned, his father opened the Mill on the River restaurant in South Windsor, Conn., and one day when they were driving around, “we stumbled onto Northampton. Before I even got out of the car, I looked around and knew, ‘this was it,’” Guerra said.
He opened Spoleto’s there 25 years ago and said it was a success from the start. “My formula has always been simple. Treat your customers and employees the way you would want to be treated.”
Guerra continued to open new eateries, including the upscale French restauarant, Del Raye, which he turned into a pub in 2008, and they all did well until the recession hit. He had opened another Spoleto’s in East Longmeadow as well as the Northampton Mama Iguana’s in 2007, and the downturn in the economy affected business across the board. “It was extremely tough. We were struggling to survive,” he said.
During that time, a consulting company contacted him and offered to conduct a free, in-depth analysis of his restaurants. Although Guerra didn’t hire the firm to make changes, the exercise did point out a number of areas that needed improvement. “So we rolled up our sleeves and concentrated on the nuts and bolts of our predicament,” he said.
And although the Springfield Mama Iguana’s did well, the restaurant group as a whole continued to struggle to turn the numbers around until the beginning of this year, “when the lights went on and we opened our eyes.”
Guerra said he finally realized he had too much invested in liquor and food. He reduced the inventory at his restaurants by 35% and began holding weekly meetings with all of his managers. In addition, every chef and manager was given a budget and had to do a weekly cost analysis.
“I never had to think about these things before. It was very painful, but now that the systems are in place, there have been some wonderful surprises; the managers are working harder, and the employees are energized. We have given them the tools and knowledge of how to do their jobs better,” he explained, comparing the way they operated in the past to a football team with great players but without a game plan. Now, everyone is informed about the plan, and all is going well.
Guerra said he’s happy he opened Mama Iguana’s in Springfield. “It’s a great market with high visibility. People want to be able to go out to a fun environment and not spend a lot, and Mexican cuisine allows you to do that.”

Recipe for Success
Many families and businesses hold parties and meetings at Mama Iguana’s. The third floor has pull-down screens that can be used for business presentations and is a quiet spot for those who seek that atmosphere, while the other floors are more lively.
And when guests leave, they don’t have to worry about how far away they parked because a cyclist sits outside, waiting to give them a ride to their vehicle in the restaurant’s pedicab.
It’s all part of the fun, and Guerra continues to do all he can to ensure that people will have positive experiences when they visit. To him, business is about making sure the customer has — what else? — fun, along with positive memories and, in this case, a great Mexican adventure in his Mama Iguana style.

Tips for Restaurant and Coffee-shop Owners

By
Restaurants Sections
Violations of Wage and Overtime Laws Can Come with a Hefty Price

Karina L. Schrengohst

Karina L. Schrengohst

State and federal laws pertaining to minimum wage, tips, overtime, and employing minors are complicated. As a result, these are areas where mistakes are often made. Employers, however, cannot afford these errors because the consequence of not complying with these laws can be very costly.
In fact, in Massachusetts, there are mandatory treble (triple) damages for violations of wage-and-hour laws relating to minimum wage, tips, and overtime. This means that, if an employer is found in violation of state law, at minimum, for every dollar an employer does not pay in accordance with wage and hour laws, that employer will have to pay three times that amount. And violations of child-labor laws bring civil and criminal penalties.
Thus, in order to reduce their risk of liability, restaurant and coffee-shop owners should consult with their employment counsel and familiarize themselves with state and federal laws.
Employers, such as restaurants and coffee shops, who employ individuals who receive gratuities must be familiar with minimum-wage and tip law. In Massachusetts, employees who receive at least $20 a month in gratuities ($30 a month under federal law) may be paid $2.63 per hour, provided that their hourly pay rate and tips together are at least equal to the state minimum wage of $8 per hour.
There are two areas in particular which relate to tips that employers should be aware of: tip pooling and service charges.
Amy Royal

Amy Royal

Tip pooling is permitted under Massachusetts law, but proceeds may be distributed only to waitstaff employees and bartenders. Individuals with any management responsibility may never receive any portion of pooled tips. In February 2011, in Matamoros v. Starbucks Corp., a Massachusetts federal court found that Starbucks’ tip-sharing policy, which divided tips weekly among baristas and shift supervisors, violated state law because shift supervisors have some management responsibility.
Under the Bay State’s tip law, if a restaurant chooses to impose a service charge on an invoice, which serves as the functional equivalent of a tip or gratuity, all the proceeds from that service charge must be paid to waitstaff employees or bartenders as a tip.
Employers may, however, charge a ‘house fee’ or ‘administrative fee,’ which they may use or distribute at their discretion, but only if the employer provides a designation or written description of that house or administrative fee, informing the patron that the fee does not represent a tip or service charge for waitstaff employees, bartenders, or other service employees. This language informs the patron that the fee is not a gratuity that goes to employees. Thus, any fees not intended as gratuities and not paid to employees should not be labeled a service charge.
Under Massachusetts law, restaurants are exempt from paying employees overtime; however, they may not be exempt under federal law. Restaurants with annual gross sales of at least $500,000 are subject to both state and federal law, the latter in the form of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). If subject to the FLSA, employees working in restaurants must be paid 1.5 times the minimum wage (not 1.5 times $2.63 per hour) for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week.

Minor Concerns
Child-labor laws are designed to protect minors from hazardous jobs and allow minors to balance education with employment. They prohibit employment based on age (minors under 14 years old may not work) and the hazardousness of a job. Minors must obtain work permits. And after 8 p.m., all minors must be under the direct and immediate supervision of an adult supervisor who is located and reasonably accessible in the workplace.
Child-labor laws restrict the time a minor may work, setting rules for the earliest permissible hour, the latest permissible hour, the number of hours per day and week, and the number of days per week. Restrictions vary based on age and whether it is a school day, school night, weekend, holiday, school year, or summertime.
Two recent examples of violations of child-labor laws reveal the hefty financial consequence of non-compliance. In June 2011, the owners of five Dunkin’ Donuts franchises were fined $6,000 for violating state child-labor laws. The franchises employed minors without work permits, before the earliest permissible hour, after the latest permissible hour, and beyond the maximum number of daily hours allowed under child labor laws.
And in October 2011, the owners of two Boston-area Chinese restaurants were ordered to pay more than $129,000 in penalties and $52,000 in restitution for violations of state laws, including minimum-wage and child-labor laws. One of the restaurants was cited for employing a 16-year-old for nine months without pay and allowing her to work beyond permissible work hours and in excess of maximum work hours.
Employers who violate Massachusetts wage and hour laws are subject to mandatory treble damages for any unpaid wages. In addition, a prevailing employee will be awarded attorneys’ fees and costs of the litigation. Because the damages are mandatory, even an employer who makes an honest mistake or takes reasonable steps to comply with wage and hour laws will be subject to these hefty damages.
In contrast, under the FLSA, employers may offer a good-faith defense for violations. Under state and federal law, employers who violate child labor laws are subject to civil and/or criminal penalties, including civil citations, civil fines, criminal fines, and imprisonment.
Considering the consequences of violations, restaurant owners should regularly consult with their employment counsel to review their practices and policies to ensure compliance with state and federal law.

Karina L. Schrengohst, Esq. and Amy B. Royal, Esq. specialize exclusively in management-side labor and employment law at Royal LLP, a woman-owned, boutique, management-side labor and employment law firm; (413) 586-2288; [email protected]; [email protected]

Time Tested

By
Fred Gohr
Restaurants Sections
Success at Fitzwilly’s Comes from a Carefully Crafted Atmosphere

Fred Gohr

Fred Gohr says Fitzwilly’s was an immediate success in the 1970s, and it has remained popular despite much stiffer competition in Northampton today.

When Roger Kirwood purchased Mike’s Tavern in 1974, the seedy bar near the railroad tracks was going out of business.
“It was an awful place,” he said. “And there was nothing happening in Northampton at the time. But I always had a burning desire to own a casual restaurant, and the city had caught my eye.”
Today, the eatery he named Fitzwilly’s (after the 1967 movie starring Dick Van Dyke) has not only stood the test of time, but has become a destination in its own right that continues to draw patrons of all ages who appreciate the comfortable, eclectic atmosphere, the good but inexpensive food, and the jovial staff. Many have worked there for more than 30 years and carried on the tone set by Kirwood, who was nicknamed ‘Captain Fun’ by his employees.
The pub-style décor that has charmed patrons for decades was carefully staged. Kirwood visited antique shops and purchased items he believed would become conversation pieces, along with a number of enormous, shining brass planters. He kept the tavern’s original bar, exposed the brick walls, and established a uniform for waitresses that consisted of form-fitting Danskin tops and full-length wraparound skirts.
He also had art pieces made for his restaurant, including a funky submarine emblazoned as the ‘U.S.S. Fitzwilly’ that hangs from the ceiling and was once a gas tank in an old airplane.
“He had a great eye for those sorts of things and a real talent for decorating,” said Fred Gohr, who was hired by Kirwood in 1978 to run the kitchen and today owns Fitzwilly’s with three partners.
But Kirwood takes no credit, and said the funky atmosphere wasn’t an original idea. “T.G.I. Friday’s was just starting up in New York City, and it was an overwhelming success. So I copied everything they did,” he explained. “I put junk and interesting stuff on the walls, created an inexpensive menu, and hired a neat staff. And the place was a raging success from the time it opened. There was nothing like it in town. It was jammed, and everyone in it was laughing all the time.”
Staff members were happy because they were making money, the patrons loved the silly names and odd combinations of foods on the menu, and the fun-filled, friendly ambiance proved to be contagious.
Kirwood said word of mouth spread quickly, and he soon had patrons driving from as far away as New Haven. Many skiers stopped on their way to the northern states, and the college crowd and their parents also loved the establishment. In fact, Fitzwilly’s brought a new crowd of people to Northampton, which encouraged other young entrepreneurs to open clothing stores and boutiques.
“Many people credit Fitzwilly’s and Roger Kirwood with the beginning of the turnaround in downtown Northampton,” Gohr said. “Fitzwilly’s was opened as an exercise in comfort and informality that, coupled with good food and drink, would make a lot of people happy. It worked, and continues to make people happy today.”

Learning Curve
Kirwood may have gotten the idea for the décor from the T.G.I. Friday chain, but his belief system played a major role in the mood of his new restaurant.
“When I bought the place, I had the idea that no one liked to go out and eat formally. It’s expensive, and you’d better know which fork to use, which impinges on the comfort zone,” he said. “I wanted to create a place that had no rules — just quality, good food, and personality. And everyone I hired was very friendly.”
Fitzwilly’s was not his first venture in the restaurant business. In 1967, at age 25, the former insurance salesman bought a building on Memorial Drive in West Springfield and created a restaurant that he named the Red Gertrude. “At the time, the Red Garter was a popular chain across the country, and I had a banjo fascination,” he said.
His budget was very limited, so he created tables from sawhorses and sheets of plywood and promoted the banjo music. The concept worked well for a while, but when Gertrude’s popularity began to wane, he changed the name to Sweet Charity’s and hired a different rock ‘n’ roll band each week. “But eventually that bombed,” he said.
His next venture was Fitzwilly’s, and he did his best to ensure that customers received outstanding service. There were also special trademarks, such as napkins sewn from kettlecloth that became so popular that patrons took them when they left to use as headbands or scarves.
Kirwood also relied on colorful and unusual marketing, such a full page newspaper ad he ran with just one word — “Delicious” — on the entire page, and included nothing else but his logo in small print at the bottom.
The rules for staff were simple — all of the brass railings had to be shined every morning, and anyone who answered the phone had to identify themselves by name. “The real charm came from the people I hired,” he said, adding that bartender Jeff Spooner was among them and still has a very strong following.
As time went on, Kirwood opened other Fitzwilly’s sites in a New Haven firehouse and in Bridgeport and Danbury, Conn. He also purchased the entire building the Northampton eatery was housed in and expanded the establishment, adding two more dining areas, a second bar, and a loft.

Attention to Detail
When Gohr took over, he changed little about Fitzwilly’s, although he continued to scour antique shops for unusual pieces. “Art is important in this town. We are proud to say that Northampton was voted the best small arts town in America a few years back,” he said.
“It’s also like a family here. We have customers we see many, many times each week. We don’t try to pretend to be a fancy, upscale restaurant. But people can be assured that, when they come here, they will get excellent food, quality and service. “
The back bar has been nicknamed ‘Spooner’s Bar,’ due to the beloved barkeep, who has developed a large following on Friday and Saturday nights. “This has really become a local gathering place,” Gohr said, adding that patrons start out as college students, get married, bring their families there, and also use the restaurant for business lunches.
“We are one of the few places in town that serves lunch with table service where people can get waited on,” Gohr said. “But lunch has always been one of our fortes. The majority of our lunch patrons are here on business.”
Gohr has watched Northampton change since he began his career there decades ago. “I remember when Fitzwilly’s was very busy in the late ’70s. At that time, Northampton didn’t have the shops and art scene it has today,” he said. “We relied on the locals and college students and staff, and although they are still a large part of our clientele, folks from out of town have become a big part of our customer base today.”
Although the number of excellent restaurants in Northampton has grown and the scene has changed dramatically, it hasn’t affected Fitzwilly’s.
“We do a lot to make sure we maintain consistent service,” said Gohr. “And I can’t say enough about how the longevity and success of this restaurant has been fueled by the staff.”
People have their favorite nooks, but a focus that has been maintained is the ample space between tables, designed to afford diners a good deal of privacy.
“It’s another reason we are successful,” Gohr said. “We could probably squeeze in at least another 40 seats, but it would take away from the comfort of the dining experience. And we understand and respect the fact that business folks need privacy.”
The most popular spot is the loft, which holds two tables. It’s known as ‘the roost,’ and it’s regarded as the best seat in the house, giving patrons a birds-eye view of the entire restaurant. But no matter where people sit, the experience is the same. “It’s fun here,” Gohr said.

Bottom Line
The atmosphere in the building originally built as a Masonic temple remains informal, and the chairs at Fitzwilly’s still don’t match. But generations of people have found a home there and have formed relationships with its longstanding employees.
“There really is something on the menu for every occasion,” said Gohr. “You can have a beer and share an appetizer or sit at a table and have a great filet mignon or the finest seafood available; we also have burgers and reubens and serve food until midnight. Folks know that, when other restaurants are closed, you can still get a bite at Fitzwilly’s.”
In short, it has never lost its style. “It’s the kind of place that is just a lot of fun,” Kirwood said. “It has stayed consistent since I opened it years ago. And that’s the whole story.”

Food for Thought

By
Antonio DiBenedetto
Restaurants Sections
Restaurant Owners Hope to Emerge from Recession Stronger

Gina Campiti

Gina Campiti says the economics of the restaurant industry may have changed, but its focus on customers should not.

Area restaurants report increased numbers of people dining out. But is this a sign that the industry is out of the weeds? Numerous restaurant closures have been on the front pages for the past year, but most owners and managers say that, if a business has come this far, the year ahead promises to put a little more on their plates.

Reflecting on the three high-profile restaurants that have closed within a scone’s throw of her restaurant in the last year — Sitar, Onyx, and Pazzo — Gina Campiti said, “it was scary. It is scary.”
Campiti is the general manager of Samuel’s Sports Bar at the Basketball Hall of Fame, and for her, such closures aren’t good for her business and the spirit of healthy competition — but, most importantly, they’re not good for the city of Springfield.
“I feel terrible for those people that went out of business,” she said. “That’s an incredible loss of money for the owners, a loss for the staff, and a loss for those people who enjoyed the restaurants. It’s depressing in such high-profile parts of the city.”
But the space formerly housing Onyx isn’t dark anymore. The Spoleto Group, owner of seven area restaurants, including their namesake Italian dining room in Northampton, unveiled their latest “concept,” as Bill Collins calls them, this past summer. And with three bars and 450 seats, this second Mama Iguana’s location is anything but quiet.
Collins is the chief operating officer of the Spoleto Group, and he and owner Claudio Guerra both say this location has been one of the most exciting for the pair. “It’s our busiest location out of all our restaurants,” Collins said.
“The reason why is that, if you take a look at what has closed there,” he said, “places were selling food at $25 to $28 a plate, with $12, $15 martinis. And here we are, selling a quality house margarita for $7.50. We’re selling entrees for $9 to $12. Our focus is keep it cheap, keep it fun, and they will come. We’ve had great success with people reacting to our prices in this downturn.”

Bill Collins (right, with Claudio Guerra)

Bill Collins (right, with Claudio Guerra) says patrons respond to reasonable prices and a fun atmosphere.

Springfield isn’t alone in high-profile closures along all price points in the restaurant industry. As it navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Friendly’s closed four regional branch locations in January, with another 37 shutting their doors across the country — all this in addition to 63 locations that closed nationwide in October. And Northampton has one fewer fine-dining choice, as the longtime haunt Green Street Café is set to close at the end of January.
At the same time, the nation’s restaurateurs are claiming a rebound in 2011 after two lean years. The National Restaurant Assoc. reports that restaurants added a net 230,000 jobs during 2011, their strongest performance since 2006. In addition, the restaurant industry finished the year only 20,000 jobs shy of fully adding back the 366,000 jobs lost during the recession. Complete recovery is expected in early 2012.
In talking to area restaurateurs, their news was more like fine wine than sour grapes, and in addition to some strong sales numbers, most offered that the gradual crawl out of the economic downturn has given them hope for the year ahead. If they made it this far, they said, 2012 holds the promise of a rebounding marketplace along with the business acumen honed from staying afloat through the Great Recession.
So, what’s on the menu for 2012? BusinessWest sat down with chefs and operators of area restaurants and gathered some food for thought.

Dish Network
Campiti unfolded the leatherbound menu on the table in front of her, which now offers 51 tapas dishes to choose from.
“This menu is a big change for us,” she explained, “and I think it’s headed in the right direction. We were successful with half the number of tapas that we had on there before. I’m hoping for even half of the excitement that we had after we changed our menu the last time.”
She explained that the little dishes are a different concept in dining, and the past year’s successful operations at Samuel’s are a direct result of that.
“Some would say, if you give people too much choice, they’ll never make up their mind,” she explained. “But you don’t need to make up your mind! A tapa is a small plate. Instead of concentrating on one entrée in front of you, you’ve got a bunch of different plates on your table that you pick from. You talk, you share. You put a big entrée in front of someone, and that’s the center of their attention. Put a variety of plates around the table, and it promotes conversation.”
Her restaurant’s location in the Hall of Fame building is a slam dunk, she said, even with the number of other eateries in close proximity.
“People go where people are,” she continued. “If it’s a busy area, people will come out. It’s an attraction. It’s not competitive to us. It can actually complement the businesses around it. Everyone has their own brand, and customers want variety.”
Ralph Santaniello, co-owner of the Federal in Agawam, agreed with that sentiment. “I’m of the belief that there aren’t just a set number of restaurants that can survive. If you do a good job, there’s room for everyone.
“At the end of the day,” he went on, “the more diners that we can keep in the Springfield area, that’s a good thing for all of the restaurants around us — not to lose them to Northampton or West Hartford.”
He and Mike Presnal, his business partner and head chef, said that 2011 was a strong year. “Not only were we up around 20% over the year before, saleswise,” Santaniello said, “but our gift-certificate sales were up even higher. In December, that was around 35%.”
Asked for the secret ingredient to their success, Santaniello said it was simple: consistency and quality.
“Number one, we have never had a different chef,” he said. “And the fact is, we’re a chef-owned restaurant, a chef-driven restaurant. It’s hard to make it when you’re an owner but not an operator. We know what goes in and out of the kitchen and bar and dining room every night of operation.”

Antonio DiBenedetto

Antonio DiBenedetto says consistency is one key to keeping diners returning to a restaurant often.

Antonio DiBenedetto said that consistency is not only a key aspect of success in running a restaurant, but one of the main reasons for a house’s success. He’s been the owner of Amedeo’s Restaurant in Holyoke for 11 years, but the business has been in the family for almost 30 years.
“It can be tough out there,” he noted, “but I think that places are closing down because there’s a lack of complete attention. You have to keep an eye on everything going on around you, every aspect of the business, not just food. It’s not one thing, it’s a million things, and consistency is a big one. The same person has made the sauces here for years. There’s no book for recipes; our food has been the same for decades.”
He joked that no one makes meatballs like his mother — “but every Italian cook will tell you that!” — and that his restaurant has weekly specials to offer some variety beyond what people might find locally. “Whatever looks good, or whatever’s in season,” he said — “osso buco, veal chops. One of my favorites is chicken carbonara, since I was a kid and my mom would make it. I try to duplicate it, but of course it’s not as good as hers.”

New World Order
The Farm Table restaurant is the newest business venture from the Kittredge family, owners of Kringle Candle. It’s housed in one of the oldest structures in Bernardston, across from the candle company’s retail flagship, and after a meticulous renovation both historic and green, it opened for lunch and dinner this past October.
Rubén Eduardo is the general manager of the restaurant, and he said that opening a restaurant in what many acknowledge to be a still-sluggish economy offered nothing but uncertainty. “We all know that the national economy was in a pretty low gear,” he added, “so we had no clear idea what would be the response when we opened.”
But what followed exceeded even their highest expectations. “I thought that we would hit about 30 reservations during the nighttime and about the same at lunch, and to my surprise, especially in this economy, it has been quite the opposite direction. Day one, for example, when we were open for lunch, we were expecting 30 or 40 people to join us. We had more than 200. So then we said, ‘OK, maybe that’s more like friends and family.’ But that trend didn’t go down.”
Early on, he realized that his reservation operation needed to be re-evaluated. With one person acting as host and fielding calls for reservations, it wasn’t enough for peak performance, especially for a day with reservations into the triple digits: one Tuesday alone fielded 400 calls for dinner.
Currently more than 60% of his clientele are repeat diners, and some of them are traveling from as far as Connecticut. He said people respond to the restaurant’s mission. “Western Mass. is blessed with amazing products and craftsmanship. In terms of our philosophy, the idea is that the food is, whenever possible, organic and sustainable. And priority is given to local farms. That is reflected in the building as well.”
The ceilings and floors are made from salvaged barn boards, all the stone work comes from within a 50-mile radius, and most of the furniture is made in Vermont. “Even our napkins are made in Hadley,” Eduardo added.
These are the details that make a difference, he said, for the customers and the staff — whom he credits for contributing to a memorable experience. “When our team is serving, they’re proud that these foods are local,” he continued. “These are the things that make a difference in the culture of a restaurant. I think that the enthusiasm from the public comes from the enthusiasm of a restaurant’s team.”
At the new Mama Iguana’s, Collins said a similar level of attention to each restaurant’s physical space has always been a key ingredient to the Spoleto Group’s success. “But the tough part about the economy now is that Claudio and I have had to change how we run the businesses,” he said. “It used to be easy to put up a great atmosphere with great food and service, and you’ve got yourself a busy restaurant that’s making money. It’s now more of a scientific business for us.”
The seven restaurants they oversee are Spoleto’s in Northampton and East Longmeadow; Spoleto Express, Pizzeria Paradiso, Paradise City Tavern, and Mama Iguana’s, all in Northampton; and the newest Mama Iguana’s in Springfield. Collins said this new economy has turned the pair into better businesspeople than they were before.
“We’ve been forced by the times and the economy to do that, and what Claudio and I are finding is that it’s the most exciting thing we’ve ever done,” he said. “We have taken an approach during this downturn to make all our concepts as affordable as possible. We’d rather set a stage where guests could come out two, three times a week and have an affordable, great meal, rather than having them come in once for $150 and not see them again for a couple weeks. Because what do people need at this time more than ever? A release — a place to come for a cocktail and some good food.”
After an entire life spent in the restaurant industry, Guerro agreed, adding that “this is a new world we’re living in. A couple years ago, we were asking, ‘how do we survive this storm?’ Now, it’s more like this is the new reality, and how do we make money in that reality?”
“We’ve been working a tremendous amount on the nuts and bolts of our operation, and streamlining the systems,” Collins said. “With these transitions, when the economy comes back, we’re ready for takeoff.”

Your Serve
Over at Samuel’s, Campiti agreed that the industry she has worked in all her life has been altered. “To me, I don’t look at this as a recession any longer,” she explained. “Now, it’s a change in the way of life.”
But, there’s one thing that doesn’t change, she said — a focus on customers, an idea which everyone who spoke with BusinessWest agreed.
“A customer walks through your door prepared to have a good experience, and they are pleasantly surprised to have a great experience,” Campiti said. “That’s what keeps us all here.”