Looking for restaurant
March 10, 2008 1:38 PM Subscribe
Looking for information on a possibly defunct family-style restaurant northwest of Boston.
The restaurant was in one of the MetroWest cities off Route 2. I'm guessing it was in Lexington, but it could have been in Waltham, Belmont, Arlington, or in the Mt. Auburn area of Cambridge. It had "old timey" decor (low ceilings, Victorian-ish detailing and wainscotting) and served diner-ish/American food (steaks, chops, fish, sandwiches). It was nicer than the average restaurant aimed at families with young children (such as Friendly's), but was not especially nice. I don't think it was a chain, and it was too informal to be part of the Barnsider Company. To my knowledge it was open through at least the early 1990s, if in fact it closed.
My memory of the restaurant, apart from the decor, was that the waiters were dressed as singers in a barbershop quartet (straw hats and vertical striped shirts) and would sing "happy birthday" in four-part harmony as they served free cake to the person celebrating a birthday. They were pretty lax about checking IDs and making sure the celebrant was having a birthday, which resulted in my dad taking me and my younger brother there a few times a year and taking advantage of this oversight.
Is this ringing any bells?
The restaurant was in one of the MetroWest cities off Route 2. I'm guessing it was in Lexington, but it could have been in Waltham, Belmont, Arlington, or in the Mt. Auburn area of Cambridge. It had "old timey" decor (low ceilings, Victorian-ish detailing and wainscotting) and served diner-ish/American food (steaks, chops, fish, sandwiches). It was nicer than the average restaurant aimed at families with young children (such as Friendly's), but was not especially nice. I don't think it was a chain, and it was too informal to be part of the Barnsider Company. To my knowledge it was open through at least the early 1990s, if in fact it closed.
My memory of the restaurant, apart from the decor, was that the waiters were dressed as singers in a barbershop quartet (straw hats and vertical striped shirts) and would sing "happy birthday" in four-part harmony as they served free cake to the person celebrating a birthday. They were pretty lax about checking IDs and making sure the celebrant was having a birthday, which resulted in my dad taking me and my younger brother there a few times a year and taking advantage of this oversight.
Is this ringing any bells?
Best answer: Was it Chadwick's in Waltham?
They did the whole "Two strong men bring out the Belly Buster" act and all the waiters/waitresses would sing for your birthday. The Belly Buster had, like, 30 scoops of ice cream in it.
They had old time decor, with some sort of precursor to pneumatic tubes on the ceiling, a backwards barbershop clock, and some other decor from the period.
It closed a few years ago. To bad, they had some great ice cream.
posted by bondcliff at 1:52 PM on March 10, 2008
They did the whole "Two strong men bring out the Belly Buster" act and all the waiters/waitresses would sing for your birthday. The Belly Buster had, like, 30 scoops of ice cream in it.
They had old time decor, with some sort of precursor to pneumatic tubes on the ceiling, a backwards barbershop clock, and some other decor from the period.
It closed a few years ago. To bad, they had some great ice cream.
posted by bondcliff at 1:52 PM on March 10, 2008
They don't look that old-timey now, but the one I used to visit in Concord seems to fit the bill.
posted by Koko at 1:52 PM on March 10, 2008
posted by Koko at 1:52 PM on March 10, 2008
The only Chadwick's I know was in Lexington; if you ordered the 20-scoop ice cream bowl and ate the entire thing yourself, you didn't have to pay for it. Great place, had the decor you describe.
posted by Melismata at 1:54 PM on March 10, 2008
posted by Melismata at 1:54 PM on March 10, 2008
It was on the Waltham / Lexington line, I believe. You might be right about it being in Lexington.
The description of the waiters is dead-on for Chadwick's.
Huh, Amy Poehler worked there:
"She waitressed for awhile at Chadwick's, a Lexington restaurant.
"We wore Styrofoam hats and we had to sing and dance when it was somebody's birthday," she recalls with a laugh. "
From IMDB trivia
The restaurant "Bradwick's" plays a central role as a theme restaurant where waiters dress in old fashioned striped uniforms with hats, and bang drums for people's birthdays. About 5 miles away from Amy Poehler's hometown, there was a restaurant named "Chadwick's" (Lexington MA), where waiters wore old fashioned striped uniforms with hats, and banged drums for people's birthdays (in addition to providing free Sundaes). Chadwick's was demolished in 1998.
posted by bondcliff at 3:00 PM on March 10, 2008
The description of the waiters is dead-on for Chadwick's.
Huh, Amy Poehler worked there:
"She waitressed for awhile at Chadwick's, a Lexington restaurant.
"We wore Styrofoam hats and we had to sing and dance when it was somebody's birthday," she recalls with a laugh. "
From IMDB trivia
The restaurant "Bradwick's" plays a central role as a theme restaurant where waiters dress in old fashioned striped uniforms with hats, and bang drums for people's birthdays. About 5 miles away from Amy Poehler's hometown, there was a restaurant named "Chadwick's" (Lexington MA), where waiters wore old fashioned striped uniforms with hats, and banged drums for people's birthdays (in addition to providing free Sundaes). Chadwick's was demolished in 1998.
posted by bondcliff at 3:00 PM on March 10, 2008
Response by poster: Bondcliff: Yes. It was Chadwick's.
Damn, can't believe it closed.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:02 PM on March 10, 2008
Damn, can't believe it closed.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:02 PM on March 10, 2008
Thanks for reminding me about this place. Didn't they bang a huge gong when it was a birthday and not a drum? So sad it's gone.
posted by jdl at 2:56 PM on March 10, 2008
posted by jdl at 2:56 PM on March 10, 2008
I ate there pretty much every week with my grandmother, went there for every birthday, and drove there with friends if we had a free block around lunchtime, until it closed in '98, right before my senior year of high school. Some other random recollections:
Rachel Dratch of SNL was also a waitress for a few years.
Giant 19th-century style bicycle hanging on the wall -- John, the owner, rode it every year in the Patriots' Day parade in Lexington. He didn't want to close the place but the landlord jacked up rents then sold out to a daycare center that now occupies the space (at the corner of Waltham St. and Concord Ave.
There was a working phone booth in the back corner with a Superman cape hanging inside. As a five-year-old I thought that was pretty much the cleverest thing ever.
Deliciously thick frappes, and they gave you the metal mixing container as well as a parfait glass -- something like 32 ounces of frappe.
I remember getting really angry when a friend of mine lied about it being his birthday when we were about 14; Chadwick's birthdays were sacred.
Anyway, I miss it too.
posted by frescaanddietcoke at 5:32 PM on March 10, 2008
Rachel Dratch of SNL was also a waitress for a few years.
Giant 19th-century style bicycle hanging on the wall -- John, the owner, rode it every year in the Patriots' Day parade in Lexington. He didn't want to close the place but the landlord jacked up rents then sold out to a daycare center that now occupies the space (at the corner of Waltham St. and Concord Ave.
There was a working phone booth in the back corner with a Superman cape hanging inside. As a five-year-old I thought that was pretty much the cleverest thing ever.
Deliciously thick frappes, and they gave you the metal mixing container as well as a parfait glass -- something like 32 ounces of frappe.
I remember getting really angry when a friend of mine lied about it being his birthday when we were about 14; Chadwick's birthdays were sacred.
Anyway, I miss it too.
posted by frescaanddietcoke at 5:32 PM on March 10, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Koko at 1:51 PM on March 10, 2008