By Richard Price
Grafton News Editor –
Let’s pick-up our glass and toast, one last time, to Danielle’s Pub.
Last Sunday, after a whole bunch of years and memories, neighbors said goodbye to the popular North Grafton restaurant just two weeks after the owner lost his battle with cancer.
At 3 on Saturday afternoon, the dining room was quiet but the regulars kept the bar stools warm until the dinner crowd could catch up for their last supper: surf n’ turf or maybe a double grilled cheese bacon cheeseburger. What the heck. Let’s forget the diet for one night.
Dennis Doe, who owned the pub and adjacent breakfast diner, ran it like a neighborhood haunt, a welcome relief from the generic feel of a chain restaurant.
In many ways, Danielle’s last day was like any other. Budweiser and Coors were popular with the patrons. On the TV, the Red Sox were playing the Astros. In the corner, a jukebox glowed.
Against the back wall, trophies from Grafton Women’s Softball were lined up, which Doe sponsored annually, along with the Fun Fair which supports the North Grafton Elementary schools. The long standing waitresses knew you if you were a regular. It was what made Danielle’s—well—Danielle’s.
But last Saturday was an especially tough day for everyone. The workers decided to close after Doe passed away April 30.
“He treated us like their daughters,” said Christine Purcell referring to her and the other women who worked there. She said Doe hired her 14-years ago when she needed a job. She returned the favor as a waitress, bartender and anything else that needed to be done.
Another waitress, Tiffany Young, said on social media that Doe had a passion for bringing people together and she considered herself fortunate getting to know several generations of customers. “Rest in peace, Dennis Doe,” she wrote.
For those that don’t know, Danielle’s Pub is actually two restaurants in the same building. In front, facing Worcester Street and across from Noel’s Auto Sales, is the breakfast place. Doe started it as the the Grafton Coffee Shop in the late 1970s when he was only 18. He ran it while also taking college courses and working for UPS. But eventually he focused on his restaurant. When his daughter, Danielle, was born, he renamed it Danielle’s Breakfast. Then he expanded in 2000 to include Danielle’s Pub. “He worked tirelessly for 40 years building his dream,” Doe’s obituary read calling it a place where friends could gather, celebrate the good times, and find support during the more difficult moments.
Doe kept the restaurants going while he fought his sickness for five years. But when the 18 or so waitstaff and kitchen workers heard recently he wasn’t getting better they lined up new jobs—but waited until Danielle’s closed for good.
Even before Doe took over, the spot evolved in local history. The lot was once home to Leofanti’s Restaurant. In the 1970s it was sold and renamed Metros then sold again to become Campanale’s Grafton House Restaurant, according to “A Grafton Chronicle,” a history book on Grafton in the 20th century. In the mid-80s, the book said, Sen. Ted Kennedy gave a speech at the Grafton Shoppers Mart and then ate breakfast at Campanale’s.
But on Saturday, Guy Pichette, Doe’s close friend for 30-years, sat at the bar one last time. He remembered when the restaurant was started and how hard Doe worked. “He did well here,” said Pichette between sips of beer. But with no heir apparent (his daughter lives in Barcelona, Spain) the options were few. In Doe’s final days, Pichette and his family took care of him in his time of need.
“Where should I go when Danielle’s is gone,” a regular who lives in Worcester asked a visitor and Pichette. Neither had a good answer. The place is hard to match.
The post Neighbors say goodbye to Danielle’s Pub appeared first on The Grafton News.