N.H. diner no longer serving eggs with a side of politics
Primary stop closes its doors after 28 years
MANCHESTER, N.H. - Every four years, the red vinyl booths of the Merrimack Restaurant served as the backdrop for aspiring presidential candidates as they mingled with the people of New Hampshire.
They ordered the eggs, drank the coffee, and chatted with the waitresses. The television cameras followed them from booth to booth. Print reporters scribbled notes. Fox News even set up a temporary headquarters here last year so the anchors could have their own vinyl booths.
But Merrimack's customers will have to find somewhere else to get their omelets and their slice of politics now. The diner, a staple since 1980, closed its doors this weekend for good.
"It was part of the process," said Tom Rath, a former New Hampshire attorney general and a Republican political strategist. "You knew if you were eating there within a month of the primary, you wouldn't be eating alone."
The diner's owners, sisters Maria Saitas and Connie Farr, could not be reached for comment yesterday. The New Hampshire Union Leader reported yesterday that the property was sold to a consortium that plans a more upscale restaurant and office complex.
Even with the doors closed yesterday and the custodian cleaning up, the hand-written sign inside still advertised specials: Greek Omel, Eggs Benedict, Irish Eggs, 2 eggs/hash.
Nearby, autographed political photos remained affixed to the walls along with Little League sponsorship plaques.
On the outside, a mural, painted for the diner's 25th anniversary, showcased caricatures of some of the better-known customers: Bill Clinton with a big smile, Joe Lieberman and Gary Hart holding cups of coffee, Steve Forbes with a receipt that says "The food is so good I almost want to buy the restaurant," and Bob Dole reading about the "Bob Dole Blue Plate Special" on the menu.
Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee and a former presidential candidate, said he went 15 or 20 times, often to have quick meetings with consultants over lunch or to hold small fund-raisers. On the way out, customers would often stop him, even when he was largely unknown, and give him a piece of their mind, he said.
"At the end of the conversation you'd find out he was a Republican," he said. "Twenty minutes of earnest listening and you find out he couldn't vote in the primary."
But even if he didn't pick up votes, "it's kind of a place you go to learn and get the feel of what it's like to be in New Hampshire," said Dean, former governor of Vermont.
Manchester's downtown has a slew of new restaurants, the kind that are more likely to serve goat cheese and shitake mushrooms.
"The Merrimack fit the bill because politicians got the sense that that's where the common people were," said Tom Puskarich, owner of Z food & drink, part of the new wave of downtown Manchester restaurants that dusts its pineapple upside-down cheesecake with almond biscotti crust. "It became a tradition and a rite of passage in New Hampshire politics, more than an actual demographic."
Though the Merrimack's customers may have grown older, many were loyal, even when politicians were not around. They would come for the haddock or the fried clams or Connie's American Chop Suey.
Louise Foote, who lives in an assisted living facility next door, would get bacon and eggs for a disabled man on the 11th floor every day. Last week, when she turned 76 and came in for a hamburger, Maria the waitress wished her a happy birthday like an old friend.
"I go for a cup of coffee in the morning and a doughnut sometimes," Foote said. "In the afternoon, I'd just go over and talk to people."
Jane Davis, 73, was probably Merrimack's best-known waitress. Over 24 years at the restaurant, she has given interviews about presidential politics to news crews from Hong Kong to Sweden. One New York tabloid reporter dubbed her the "tart-tongued waitress," a name that stuck with her regulars, she said with a laugh.
"There will never be a place like that as far as the food and service was concerned," said Davis, who shed lots of tears "and the whole 9 yards" on Friday, her last lunch shift.
Davis has met more than 60 candidates over six primary seasons, she said. It used to be more fun. The last election was "horrendous," she said. Too many unpleasant feelings. Too much partisanship.
"There was no feeling of 'Yeah, we're running for president. Let's have fun,' " she said.
Bill Clinton was her favorite candidate: smart, nice, an uncanny memory, and a great schmoozer. She said: "He used to send us little notes."
Davis conceded the restaurant and its customers were in many ways a prop for the candidates and the media. For her part, she would identify the more quotable customers to reporters.
"We played along," she said. "Why not? The publicity was good."
Globe correspondent Marc Larocque contributed to this report. Noah Bierman can be reached at nbierman@globe.com.
