Table Hoppin

TABLE HOPPIN’ Harry’s waitress marks half century of service

BARBARA M. HOULE

Deborah Foster vividly remembers the first time she met Harry Cohen, founder of Harry’s Restaurant in Westboro.

“I was a single mom looking for a job and the restaurant was just a few miles from my home,” said Foster. “It was summer when I walked into the restaurant and Harry asked me to fill out a 3x5 card. I had zero food experience and didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “Harry looked at the card, turned to me and asked, ‘Can you start tomorrow night?’”

In June, Foster celebrated 50 years as a waitress at Harry’s Restaurant.

Deborah (“Deb,” “Debbie”) Foster is more than your average waitress, and that’s for sure, according to Janine Sander, who manages the restaurant with Suzanne Ryan, also a manager. “Customers love Debbie, we love her. She’s family,” said Sander, a 31-year employee of the restaurant. She described Foster as a kind, humble and compassionate person. “If Debbie has a day off, customers ask where she is and when she’s coming back. She has served generations of customers. One of the best waitresses ever!”

Work has shifted for a lot of people due to the coronavirus pandemic, including Foster who recently retired. She said her decision was voluntary. “I love the restaurant and the people, and I plan to pop in to say hello whenever I can,” Foster said. “As a senior and with the pandemic health risks I knew it was finally time to leave.”

A Westboro resident “all her life,” Foster admits food service is hard work, but also rewarding and even fun. She raised two children while working day shifts at the restaurant, waiting tables and cashing out customers.

Being a waiter or waitress requires diplomacy, the ability to interact with a variety of personalities and a good memory, according to this longtime worker. “We all get our share of cranky customers,” said Foster, admitting she became more relaxed on the job as years passed. It has been her experience, she said, that a cranky customer turns into a different person once served coffee or food.

Foster recalled her worst day in food service happened more than 25 years ago when a customer came into the restaurant to ask travel directions. “When I tried to help out he abruptly told me that he didn’t take directions from a woman. I’ll

Deborah Foster has been a waitress for 50 years at Harry’s Restaurant in Westboro. She retired in June.

CHRISTINE PETERSON

never forget it, but I believe the good outweighs the bad.

“Harry’s Restaurant is an iconic mom-and-pop kind of place,” said Foster. “The meals and desserts are made from scratch and made with love.”

She rattled off belly plate ( fried whole clams), seafood, corned beef zippy with onion rings, burgers, beef liver, meatloaf and American chop suey as a few menu favorites. “I tell friends that Harry’s American chop suey is almost as good as mine,” said Foster with a grin. “Oh, and the restaurant’s pot roast melts in your mouth. I really mean it’s that good.”

A New England diner favorite, grape nut custard pudding is one of the restaurant’s classic sweet treats.

Foster said Harry Cohen made the desserts when she first started working. “Harry’s puddings were my very favorite, and I had the habit of putting some in a little dish and spoon tasting it,” said Foster. “Well, maybe I did more than one tasting in a shift and Harry joked, ‘We’re not making puddings anymore when you’re here.’ He really was a great guy. I’m lucky to have worked with Harry and then his son Jon.”

Harry Cohen’s son Jon Cohen and wife Linda are current owners of the eatery. Visit www.harrysrestaurant. com for the family’s story and more info about the restaurant.

Foster has an awesome collection of memories she has put together in a photo book. Newspaper clippings about the restaurant, owners, awards, parties, distinguished guests, employee weddings, you name it. “Retired, I’m trying to put things in order,” said Foster. “You know how you toss things into a box and sort of forget about them?”

Foster’s love for travel has been put on hold as a result of COVID-19, and these days she spends time in her yard and getting things done around the house. She also likes to get together with friends and family. She has two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.

Harry’s is one of the countless restaurants that has had to change their operations amid the pandemic, according to Sander, who said limited staff now serves customers at several inside tables and on the new outdoor patio.

Hours at Harry’s Restaurant, 149 Turnpike Road, Westboro, are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Telephone (508) 366-8302. Takeout and curbside service available.

“I definitely will miss the people I worked with and the customers,” said Foster about retirement. “The restaurant was like a second home.”

Foster may have hung up the apron, but it’s a sure bet she will join the celebration when Harry’s Restaurant observes its 75th anniversary in April 2021.

It’s all about family, after all.

Wishing Debbie a healthy and happy retirement!

Worcester Tech student wins scholarship

Georgina Gutierrez Galan, a 2020 graduate of Worcester Technical High School, received a $2,000 scholarship from the Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub, awarded this

Kevin Layton, chef instructor/department head at Worcester Technical High School, with scholarship recipient Georgina Gutierrez Galan.

SUBMITTED PHOTO

month at the 2020 Massachusetts

Restaurant Association’s Ernie Tremblay Drive-In Scholarship

Awards Gala in Saugus. Due to COVID-19, the MRAEF event was an alternative to the annual scholarship gala.

Gutierrez Galan will attend Johnson & Wales University in Providence in the fall. At Worcester Technical High School she was a student in the culinary arts program and also worked at Ed Hyder’s Mediterranean Marketplace in Worcester. She was on the team from Worcester Technical High School that competed at the 2020 Mas

sachusetts ProStart Invitational

held in March, sponsored by MRAEF. The team took first place for best appetizer and second place overall for menu. Judging criteria included how well the students worked together as a team, menu, food costs and taste. Gutierrez Galan was her team’s main competitor.

Chef/instructor Kimberly Youkstetter at Worcester Technical High School who mentors students said Gutierrez Galan worked hard and showed dedication to the trade and the culinary team. “She was relaxed and fun to be around. A true professional and great student,” said Youkstetter.

Congrats, Georgina!

If you have a tidbit for the column, call (508) 868-5282. Send email to bhoulefood@gmail.com.