The clues were everywhere.
Clues that told the story of George and Heidi Parker, who will retire and close their restaurant on Suncook Valley Road in Chichester with a buffet on Dec. 29.
The walls were a clue, nearly every inch covered with framed photos. Of a friend’s grandkids. Of three little girls who later, in their teens, worked for George. Of the local electrician marrying a young local couple, his justice-of-the-peace notes hidden inside the clearly-visible Parker’s Roast Beef and Seafood menu.
And of the Patriots’ sixth and latest Super Bowl trophy, brought to Parker’s last summer to raise money for a Pittsfield man dying from ALS.
The dining room itself was a clue as well. It’s open space, with the warmth of a legion hall, everyone traditionally in sight of each other on a busy day, a meal-time scene that will close after 14 years. A group of five sat at a large circular table, visitors who came from Nashua and beyond to have a bite and greet their old friend.
Too bad they showed up on a Monday, the one day of the week when George is closed. On this day, though, he was inside measuring equipment, packing, preparing, at age 71, for the next chapter in his life.
George looked out the window and saw the group standing in the parking lot. They looked lost, not sure what to do next.
“Idiots,” George told them, after finally opening the door. Then laughter. Then an invitation to come in. Then more laughter.
“We’ve had this experience because of George and Heidi,” said Jeff Moore of Nashua, who was sitting at the table. “You guys have touched a lot of lives.”
Yes, they have, which is why the yet-to-be-finalized sale of their business has become everyone’s business. As George told me during my recent visit, “It is sad. There are so many good people out here. It’s been a great ride.”
The ride at this particular spot began after George owned Beefside Restaurant for 17 years, then worked as a district manager. They opened in Chichester in 2005, and soon, he and Heidi had built something that eventually represented a lot more than merely a place to eat.
Sure, the food was tasty, home-cooked, prepared by Heidi. Comfort food in a comfortable setting, said George, who then listed off some of his favorites: shepherd’s pie, baked mac and cheese from scratch and, of course, a good old-fashioned plate of meatloaf.
“And regular standard American chop suey,” George said. “With five pounds of hamburger in each batch. Very meaty.”
Lately, though, George said it’s been tough finding young people who want to work in the restaurant business. Not like they used to. They used to respond when word spread to the local high school that Parker’s needed help.
“It’s just time and it breaks out hearts,” Heidi said by phone. “I cannot imagine what the weekend will be like, but we’re getting on in age, and the kids don’t want to fill these positions anymore. We would teach them how to wash dishes and how to cook, and the last six years they don’t want to learn. They don’t want to do this type of job.”
That meant hours, hours and more hours as retirement age came and went for George. Heidi is 57, but she, too, was tired of the nights, of the 60-plus hour work weeks, of standing on a concrete floor all day and half the night.
“I didn’t know it was dragging financially and we said that was it,” George said. “We’re already whittling down inventory.”
They never skimped on compassion, though. Just ask Pat and Gail Vincent of Pittsfield. Their son, Nathan Vincent, was diagnosed with ALS in 2014 and given five years to live, tops.
Nathan continues his fight, with Gail telling me, “The only reason he is alive is his will to live. That’s the only thing that doctors can tell me. He bypasses every timeline they have given him, so they’ve stopped giving him timelines at this point.”
The meals kept coming, and they keep coming. It might seem silly to multiply five – the number of years Nathan has been fighting this always-fatal disease – by 52 – the number of Thursdays in a year. It’s not silly, though, because, Nathan’s mother says, that 260 total is an accurate reflection of how many times she’s driven to Parker’s to pick up the meals.
“Every Thursday a meal,” Gail said, “and I’m not kidding. She did not miss a meal in five years. If I couldn’t make it on a Thursday, I’d come another day.”
It became known as Parker’s Night. The time when extended family, like Gail’s parents and her sister and their kids and their kids’ boyfriends and girlfriends, went to the Vincent’s home for dinner. Heidi often made extra soup, extra mac and cheese. In the summer, they’d all eat outside, on the deck.
“She has given us a gift not only of food,” Gail said, “but it brought our family closer together.”
That group of guys hanging out the other day, unbeknownst to them that they had visited on a day off, shows the strange and unique bonds George and Heidi have created through the years.
They’re a band called Double Yellow and they recorded an album near George’s restaurant. Then they stopped at Parker’s and ate there for the first time.
That was more than 10 years ago, and they haven’s stopped eating there since.
“We loved what we saw,” said Jacob Wen, a band member who lives in Nashua. “We loved the food and the people so much. A home away from home.”
“We’ve had different names for our band,” said Jeff Moore, also of Nashua, “but Parker’s has stuck with us.”
George and Heidi have watched these musicians grow, physically and mentally and musically. They’re dads now, with PhDs. Beyond Nashua, another member came in from Greenfield, 50 miles away, another from Princeton, N.J., 320 miles from here.
It’s December, after all. “During the holidays,” said Evan Hedrich of Greenfield, “we pretty much come up here without fail.”
Visits will continue, the band said, but it will feel different. Their home base, with its laughter and yummy smell of food, is changing ownership. George said he’s in the midst of finalizing a deal.
“In 14 years,” George said, “nothing but comfort food.”
Meanwhile, George said those photos, a few hundred of them, will be stored on his laptop, showing his friends at different ages, different points in their lives.
“I’m closing with a heavy heart, to leave all my good friends we made out here,” George said.
This visit included Will Hedrich and his fiance, Jessica Espino, and Will’s brother, Evan Hedrich, who held his baby daughter, Charlotte, close to his chest.
These are George’s friends. Ever the playful rascal, he made sure to mention Will Hedrich, pointing out that he’s changed a lot through the years.
“He had hair,” George said, laughing. “You can see it. We have a photo from 10 years ago.”