Staffers said they would miss their customers, many of whom they've come to know well.
NORTHAMPTON -- "It's a bittersweet day," said Denise Schoen, whose brother, Mike Cronin, is closing down the iconic Look Restaurant, which has held down the Route 9 curve in Leeds for more than 50 years.
Saturday was the Look's last day in operation under Cronin, who announced Friday he would close the restaurant while looking for a new owner.
Schoen and her family -- Ali, David, and husband Craig -- were found sitting at a booth during breakfast. "We used to come here on the holidays," said Ali Schoen. "He would close the place down. It was nice. It was a family thing."
While Cronin kept a low profile Saturday ("He's having a hard day," said a restaurant staffer), Schoen placed part of the blame on the recent winter's soaring electricity costs. "It's not easy," she said.
The restaurant, built in the 1950s, was named the Look Restaurant in 1961 by Alan Sylvester, who ran the place with Leo Duvall until 1992. That's when Cronin, the former son-in-law of Sylvester, bought the business.
Customers waited in line mid-morning for a booth or a place at the counter.
"I've been coming here for thirty years, ever since Alan and Leo owned it," said Rich Egan, while chatting with his friend Steve Malinoski of Florence, who was sitting at the counter with his eggs, sunnyside up.
"They know what I'm going to order before I even sit down," said Malinoski. "I've been coming here for years; my dad used to send me here to pick up lunch." Malinoski's father owned the former Mal's Driving Range in Leeds, just up the road on Route 9. "Then it was the place for some of us to stop for breakfast before golfing at the Northampton Country Club."
Lucille Bartus of Chesterfield said the Look has been a place "where you can come in by yourself, and always find people you know. It'll be hard to find a new place to go." Her husband Joe said he and Lucille would always meet his brother-in-law at the Look after attending church on Sunday.
Lauren Guilmette and Kyle Jackson said they had recently moved to Chesterfield, and discovered the Look. "It's a big place for people from the hilltowns," said Guilmette. "The food is amazing. We found out on Facebook yesterday the place is closing. It's sad. This place is the best."
Dana Gillette and her children were finishing up what appeared to be a mountainous breakfast. "I've been coming here since I was born," said Mary Elias-Gillette, 12. Her brother Eli, 9, said his favorite menu item was the Double Up.
"That's two pancakes, two bacon, two sausage, two toast, two eggs and homefries," said the growing boy, adding that he needed no help finishing the entire breakfast by himself.
Staffers were upbeat, friendly, and putting a brave face on a tough situation.
"I'm doing OK," head cook Jeremy Timmins told a customer. "Although I've had better days."
Waitress Amy Garigan said she would miss the people as much as she would miss her job. "We love our customers," she said, while delivering platters of eggs and pancakes to folks sitting at the counter. "We're going to miss them."