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Date: 5/31/2022
NORTHAMPTON – Even though the lights were off, and the tables were empty inside the building at 111 Pleasant St. on May 25, Jillian Duclos still greets with a smile and an emphatic, “welcome to the family business.”
This is the same sprightliness that defined the last 39 years at Sylvester’s, the family-run staple that brought joy to generations of regulars, tourists, and anyone else who enjoyed their famous breakfast, brunch, and lunch five days a week.
Opened and owned by Peter St. Martin and Maureen McGuinness, and managed by Chris St. Martin and Duclos, Sylvester’s saw its final day of business on Memorial Day weekend after an emotional last few weeks, which included an announcement on Facebook about the closing.
“God, there’s been a mix of emotions for me,” Peter told Reminder Publishing, during an interview inside the famous building. “[I] was apprehensive, then nervous. And then over the weekend, I was elated, because the decision was finally made, and we could move on, but now I’m sad.”
Peter opened Sylvester’s with his partner in 1983, during a time when Northampton was still considered a “sleepy town” with only a bustling downtown area on Main Street. For a “30-year-old kid” trying to start a business, Peter said the building on 111 Pleasant St. was the ideal place to begin since rent was still cheap and Pleasant was not bubbling as much as it is now.
“The rent was only like $600 a month, so it was a very affordable way to get started in the restaurant business,” said Peter. “Our thought at the time was, ‘well, we’ll just get opened and hopefully be successful.’ And that’s what we did.”
When Peter and McGuinness first started in 1983, Peter did not think he would be a part of the breakfast and lunch business for very long, but after a while, he soon realized that Sylvester’s was perfect for the family lifestyle because he could work during the day and be at home with the children at night. “It really was the perfect lifestyle,” said Peter. “All of a sudden 39 years went by, and I was still doing it.”
The history of Sylvester Graham
According to Peter, the Sylvester’s building – at least in its first permutation – was assembled by a mid-1800s preacher, and leader of the Temperance Movement, Sylvester Graham.
Graham was a proponent of healthy eating and believed in consuming whole grain products like wheat. The diet guru would also make trips to Boston to encourage people to make their own bread, rather than buying bread from a store – much to the dismay of bakeries who attempted to chase him out of his ideals.
After years of advocating for a healthy lifestyle, Graham developed a sea of followers whose goal was to create and develop an alternative whole wheat grain. Ultimately, they invented the graham cracker.
When Peter and McGuinness opened Sylvester’s in the very home that Graham built, they maintained and honored Northampton’s rich history by embracing the healthy food philosophy for their menu, creating everything from scratch, including homemade bread and pastries.
The family
Aside from owning and operating Sylvester’s, the family also owns Roberto’s Restaurant, another Pleasant Street staple that they bought in the early-2000s, though the business itself has been around for since the 1960s.
Chris, the child of Peter and McGuinness, was born in 1988 and has been a part Sylvester’s and Roberto’s his entire life.
“I always kind of worked here on and off when I was in high school and college,” said Chris. “I went to law school for a few years but came back around the time of the [coronavirus] pandemic when things were starting to reopen.”
Duclos started working at Sylvester’s while in school and continued past college. “It was a great place to work and really build a life around as a young person,” said Duclos. “I met some of my closest friends working here over the years.”
Duclos remembers the post-college years fondly, as her and Chris – as well as their friend groups – became extremely close during a time when Chris was simultaneously working at Sylvester’s and bartending at Roberto’s.
“We were all the same age, all of us young kids, 23 and 24 just having a lot of fun, you know, just slinging eggs benedicts and mimosas,” Duclos said, with a smile. “[We] were making really good money for young people … you find interesting people in the industry who end up here trying to build a life for themselves, and it’s a great industry to do that when you’re young.”
After a while, Duclos and Chris started dating, but Duclos remembers wanting to keep the relationship under wraps at first because she was initially worried about potentially severing the business relationship developed between her and Chris’s parents, she remembers with a laugh. In the end, it all worked out though, and her and Chris are going on 10 years together, and now have a child.
The future
After a traumatic two years working through the coronavirus pandemic, the family began to find it difficult to fill staff for both restaurants, a problem that persists for a lot of independent businesses that are trying to regain footing in a struggling economy.
And although Sylvester’s might be closed, Peter said every employee has been offered a job at Roberto’s.
“It kind of made sense to put 100 percent in to one of the restaurants,” said Peter, on the reasoning for closing. “[The closing] kind of enables us to transfer the staff that wants to down to Roberto’s so we can get Roberto’s up and running for seven days a week with longer hours.”
“Roberto’s right now is operating as a five-day-a-week business, so the hope is, as we expand and as we bring staff over, we can really ramp up operations that we’ve had to tamper down because of labor shortages and all those key words you’re hearing floating around the restaurant industry right now,” said Duclos. “The hope is to get back to full swing over there.”
Over the years, Sylvester’s has become a staple in the community, which Duclos credits to a staff that loves what they do every day. Despite a bittersweet last few weeks, the family will continue to cherish the memories-some of which include customers proposing at Sylvester’s – and will look forward to being a continuing presence in the community through Roberto’s. Their legacy continues to be cemented by the hundreds of Facebook comments of customers sharing their experiences over the years.
“I think [Maureen] and Pete created this really amazing work environment,” said Duclos, when speaking on Sylvester’s legacy. “I think having a staff that really loves what they do and care about what we do really translated to people coming in, and we have built relationships over time through that. We created a culture that’s really welcoming, and fun, and vibrant, and people really grasped onto that.”
“I hope that we somewhat set an example in the community of how important it is to support local, to buy small, to come to communities like this and spend your money here,” continued Duclos. “We’ve been so lucky to employ hundreds of people over the years, to help certain establishments stay open because we were able to shop local. Moving forward, I hope people remember to support their small local businesses.”