Standing behind a protracted serving counter inside his iconic ice cream store in Newton, Joe Prestejohn scooped strawberry ice cream right into a waffle cone to serve a buyer on an unseasonably heat afternoon.
Customers from close to and much have flocked to Cabot’s Ice Cream for greater than a half century, and extra probably than not, they’ve run into Prestejohn as he’s labored there ultimately since his late mother and father, Joseph and Catherine Prestejohn, bought the store in 1969.
Come subsequent month, although, Joe Prestejohn can be retiring and turning Cabot’s keys over to Kay and Kevin Masterson, homeowners of Johnny’s Luncheonette, one other go-to retro-style diner in Newton.
Prestejohn informed the Herald on Friday he’s stepping again as a result of he’s drained, having simply turned 65. He was simply 11 when he began scooping ice cream when his mother and father opened up the spot which “has turned into quite an institution.”
“Being in the restaurant business means a lot of hours and a lot of days,” Prestejohn stated. “You really don’t count the hours, you just say ‘Tuesday. I’m working, and it could be morning, day and night.’ These past couple years have been that morning, day and night.”
Charles River Regional Chamber President Greg Reibman broke the information on the chamber’s web site Thursday. That story, which Cabot’s shared on its Facebook web page, drew many neighborhood members and former staff to recall reminiscences.
“This is a place that has meant so much to so many people across the entire region,” Reibman informed the Herald. “Lots of memories, lots of celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, first dates there, but they’ve also been there when they needed some comfort in sad times.”
Prestejohn stated he’s “extremely confident” that Kay and Kevin Masterson will sustain Cabot’s success that prospects have grown accustomed to. The Mastersons have assured him they don’t need to make any adjustments to the Cabot employees or contained in the diner, he stated.
The Mastersons couldn’t be reached for remark Friday.
“I have been talking to a lot of people over many, many months,” Prestejohn stated, “and I thought these people would be the best fit because they run their business similar to mine. They treat their employees great, they treat their employees like family, they treat their customers like family.”
Loyal prospects and a supportive neighborhood, Prestejohn stated, allowed Cabot’s to proceed creating quaint sizzling fudge sundaes and selfmade belgium waffles topped with ice cream and whipped cream amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The diner put a tent up within the car parking zone to accommodate out of doors eating, and when it acquired the inexperienced mild to return to indoor seating, Prestejohn stated he tried to accommodate each choices. However, staffing challenges pivoted the diner again solely indoors, he stated.
Cabot’s has 42 staffers, a few of whom have labored for Prestejohn for greater than 25 years. The proprietor additionally depends closely on highschool college students as part-timers. He and sister Susan Lipsky all the time attempt to have not less than considered one of them be there on a regular basis, however recently, it’s been each of them to make sure easy operations.
Prestejohn stated he and his household have purposely saved all the pieces the identical contained in the diner which options pink leathered cubicles, a protracted serving counter, black-and-white checkered tile flooring, classic lighting and a soda fountain.
“We’ve always been known as standing still,” he stated. “It’s so nice to hear when a family comes in and they say ‘Oh, I used to come here when I was a little kid, and now I’m bringing my kid. This is his first Cabot’s experience.’ There are so few places where you can do that these days, you can’t go back to where you were a kid once.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”