Tommy's Lunch: Dead at the Age of 34

Tommy's Lunch, of raspberry lime rickey fame, died this week in its home at 49 Mt. Auburn St. It was 34.

The luncheonette opened in 1958, one in a series of retail establishments that have occupied the building since 1926. The next occupant will be Tommy's House of Pizza, opening on January 2.

According to Tommy Stephanian, namesake of the deceased, the restaurant died of old age.

"I'm not a two-year-old anymore. I think I'm entitled," Stephanian said.

The specific cause of death could not be determined. Medical officials said an autopsy is impossible, given the constant presence of workers preparing the property for the new owners.

Some suspect that a rocky relationship between Stephanian and his landlord may have been an additional cause of the unexpected expiration.

"Why put up with the aggravation of the landlord? He has no love for me and I have no love for him," Stephanian said.

Tommy's served fries, raspberry lime rickeys and cheesesteak sandwiches to generations of Adams House residents, Crimson and Lampoon writers and Cantabrigians. During the week, it was the study break hangout of choice for many a scholar pulling an all-nighter. On weekends, it provided refreshment and jukebox selections to the drunken post-party, pre-hook up crowd.

Stephanian prided himself in running a clean, high-quality establishment. "If I wouldn't eat it myself, I wouldn't serve it," he said. "I think I ran a very clean store. I don't recall anybody getting food poisoning from my store," he added.

Stephanian's style could best be described as surly service with a scowl, yet his demeanor was a significant part of the Tommy's experience. Raffi S. Bezjian, who owns Leo's Place with his brother, Richard, worked at Tommy's when he first came to the States from Armenia.

Stephanian himself is Armenian, although the restaurant's ethnicity is a complicated mixture of Americana.

Bezjian recalls Stephanian's "big cigar and his holler and his scream."

"He was a tough man to work for, but he's a very nice man," said Bezjian.

"One of the things that makes Tommy's so special is that a longtime patron such as myself can be so rudely treated," Jeffrey A. Edelstein '84-85 told The Crimson in 1985.

But Tommy was also a father figure for many students. He told The Crimson in 1985 that he often advised undergraduate customers, "Don't waste your money on the pinball machines--study for your exams. I've seen plenty of guys flunk."

And in October 1992, he told of his concern for his young cigarette-smoking patrons, who he repeatedly tells to quit the habit: "They say they will, but they don't.

Bezjian said that Stephanian "knew what kind of trash was in the Square" and made sure that he and his brother "stayed clear of bad habits." He often invited the Bezjian brothers to his house for holiday meals.

When the two had a week's vacation from school, Stephanian "demanded us to come to work. He wanted us to stay off the streets," recalled Bezjian.

Karin B. Braverman '94 remembered the restaurant as a welcoming hangout for regular customers like herself.

"Tommy's was my library and second home," said Braverman, who went in two or three times a day. A friend calls her "the wooden Indian in the window of Tommy's," she said.

Once, when Braverman was caught in a downpour, she stepped into Tommy's and the staff provided her with towels to dry off, she said.

"It was wonderful. It was a great place; I'm going to miss it," said Braverman.

Tommy's sudden closing came as a shock to many faithful customers. Said Ellen O. Carr '94, "It's taken out a whole chunk of my life and forced me to think of other places to go." Carr, who often bought coffee ("the cheapest thing there") said that she could go to Cafe Pamplona, "but it's just not the same."

Not everyone understood the attraction of Tommy's, however. "I won't miss it--there were always too many Crimson people there," said Karl Cheng '94, Independent president, said in his own newspaper.

For 25 years, Tommy's has provided generations of Crimson editors with late night food.

Tommy's, like a religion, divided the Harvard community into two campus: those who believed, and those who did not believe. Even the doubters, however, were often spotted in the red booths of Tommy's between 1 and 2 a.m., when the restaurant was one of few open in the Square.

Tommy's Lunch is survived by Bartley's Burgers and the Hong Kong of Mass. Ave, Pinocchio's of Winthrop St., Elsie's of Mt. Auburn St., and The Tasty of JFK St., all student hangouts of some variety. Elsie's, The Tasty and Bartley's will, in Tommy's absence, be the last remaining vestiges of greasy grille food in the Square. Quality, late-night pinball, however, has died with the legendary Tommy's.

Thomas M. Lauderdale '92, a longtime friend of the passed restaurant, could not be reached for comment.

Memorial services have not yet been scheduled. In lieu of flowers, many mourners are going to Pinocchio's for slices.

Tommy's" -30-