50 years and still on the cutting edge

Brothers follow their father to Ken's Steak House job

Robby (left) and George Zanella trim sirloin and filet mignons at Ken's Steak House in Framingham. Robby started working there in '63; George in '58. (Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

FRAMINGHAM - Anyone who has been in the business can tell you that consistency is one of the keys to a successful restaurant. George and Robby Zanella are proof.

The brothers and their father have been the meat cutters at Ken's Steak House for a combined total of nearly 100 years. George Sr. did the cutting for 43 years and passed on his trade.

"I started just making hamburgers and cutting stew meat," said George Zanella, 62, in an interview in the restaurant's lounge last week "My father, God rest his soul, taught me how to bone out veal and cut steaks, and it just went on from there."

"I started on the dishwasher," said Robby, 58. "Most people have to work their way up, but I had to work my way down - downstairs to the meat room."

The brothers know all there is about steaks - try the 12-ounce Ken's Special sirloin with a baked potato - but they could also give a lesson on the strength of family.

Both came to work at Ken's when they turned 12; George in 1958, Robby in 1963. It's been their only job for a half-century.

They may have followed their father into the meat room, but the men were not alone at Ken's. Nearly everyone in their close-knit Italian family has worked at the restaurant, including their mother, aunt, and two sisters. "It's a family affair," George said.

"We used to have a butcher/baker out front, and my mom would sell the meat," said Robby. "And she could sell. Everyone would buy from her."

Ken's is a New England institution and the namesake for the Ken's Steak House brand salad dressings and condiments. The Zanellas remember the man behind both: Ken Hanna.

Ken and his wife, Florence, known as "Flo," opened a small restaurant on Route 135 in Natick during the Depression, in 1935. He called it the Lakeside Café for its proximity to Lake Cochituate, but patrons just called it Ken's. The Hanna family moved the restaurant to Route 9 in 1941.

"Ken Hanna, I'll tell ya, he was like a second father to us when he was here. He was the greatest guy," George said. "When my son was first born, he was just as happy as I was. He came in, he gave me a hug, he goes over to Toys R' Us, and he spent well over $200 on toys for him."

"He always stuck up for the help. He was just a great guy," added Robby.

Robby shared one story from the late '70s. It was a busy Halloween night at the restaurant, and Robby strolled in wearing a gorilla costume and started jumping up and down and making gorilla noises. Ken came around the front, not knowing who was under the costume, and threw Robby out.

"He's patting me on the back to push me out, and we used to feed a lot of state troopers, so Ken goes to the bartender, 'Get the state trooper out in the back that's eating and have him come out here please,' " Robby recalled, laughing.

His brother-in-law was the chef on duty that night, and he later told Ken who was under the gorilla suit. "The next morning - I'm not kidding you - the next morning he came right over to me and he goes 'Robby, I apologize from the bottom of my heart,' and he gave me the biggest hug."

There have been a lot of good times over the years, but the brothers remember some of the harder times, too, when the economy spun downward.

They said that the current economic situation feels familiar. As usual, the restaurant does its best to weather the storm.

"Oil embargo, '72-'73, that was bad," George said, "People would just save their money."

During tough times, Ken's does its best to cope by maintaining the quality of the food and offering specials, such as a prime rib dinner for $9.99.

Over nearly 50 years, you might think two brothers working together in the restaurant business would have had plenty of fights. But they say they've rarely even raised their voices at each other.

"Our father taught us right," said Robby. "He taught us respect. You know what I mean?"

The Zanella family is old school, but then again so is the restaurant. In an age when workplace loyalty seems to be disappearing, you have people like waitress Beatrice Hewins, who has served Ken's hungry patrons for more than 52 years.

Ken's finds that encouraging family members to work in the restaurant creates a positive and fun working environment.

The Hanna family is still involved with the restaurant today, with Ken's son Tim dividing his time between the restaurant and the retail food business.

"Tim makes it happen, he really does. He's a great boss," said Robby.

"A lot of companies are against that - having families work together," said Janet Cooper, the general manager at Ken's Steak House. "My function manager is my identical twin sister, Judy.

"I find that family works well together. Obviously this is a family restaurant, the family all has a part in it. Family is a good thing," Cooper said. "A lot of these corporate places are like 'Oh, no family, you can't even be friends!' "

The brothers say they have enjoyed their time at Ken's, like the time they had to cut 1,100 steaks for the restaurant's 65th anniversary party.

They're looking forward to plenty more years doing what they love, though George admits he'll be looking to take on less work and more recreation in the future. He wants to spend a little more time with the grandchildren, and "hunting and fishing . . . and of course some golf."

Until then, the brothers begin their day at Ken's about 6 a.m. They cook a little breakfast in the kitchen, and then they turn up the radio and get to work on the day's steaks. They're usually gone by 1 p.m.

Both brothers said that when they get home, steak is the last thing on their minds.

"I'll usually have a tuna fish sandwich or something," George said.

John Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com.