NORTH ANDOVER — Cedar Crest owner Mary Claire Kennedy is striving to maintain a low-key comeback of the popular, 73-year-old restaurant she closed in Lawrence on Nov. 13.
"I was afraid if we had a grand opening, it would be a huge disaster because we're still feeling our way around here," said Kennedy, who quietly reopened for business this week in Chickering Plaza on Route 125.
"To be honest, I don't think we need one. I'd hate for people to wait a long time to be seated or be turned away because of too much of a crowd," she said.
It's been a little less than three months since Cedar Crest served its last meal at 187 Broadway. But many of its loyal customers from across the Merrimack Valley and Southern New Hampshire couldn't wait to order their favorite dishes when the scaled-down restaurant opened Monday morning.
"Our first customers — a family of four from Haverhill — came right at 6 a.m., because they wanted to be the first ones in the door," Kennedy said.
She estimated that more than 300 people turned out the first day. Business was so good there was a 20-minute wait for lunch and a half-hour wait for dinner, she said.
June Black, a Lawrence resident and local aide to U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, said she expects business will continue to thrive at the new Cedar Crest after enjoying a meal with her husband Tuesday night.
"It looks great, it still has the best chicken soup around and has all the old favorites," said Black, a longtime customer who also has been a close friend of Kennedy since the two attended Alice Franz Dance School on Broadway in Lawrence more than four decades ago.
"Cedar Crest has always been a very good family restaurant," Black said.
As the restaurant neared its 9 p.m. closing time Tuesday, several customers greeted Kennedy with rave reviews as they paid their bills. They remarked how the service, the food and the ambience were as good as ever.
"A lot of people have been telling me the last couple of days they liked the way the new restaurant looks and the way it feels," said Kennedy.
"We've done a lot to make the customers feel at home. We've brought the Tiffany lamps; the artwork on the walls; the cedar tables, booths and chairs; the restaurant equipment from the kitchen and our dishes; and, of course, our recipes for the food and our help — a staff of 25," she said.
"The most special part of this place is the counter that was in the diner. A friend of mine cut it to fit the bar. It's 35 years old and looks brand-new. We're hoping to have our liquor license by Friday," she said.
Kennedy, 58, a former mayor of Lawrence, said she is partners with her 25-year-old son Tommy in the new restaurant. She began working at the old Cedar Crest as a waitress in 1969, while attending Merrimack College. She spent seven years in Washington, D.C., after graduation, but resumed working for the original owners, Sully and Lorraine DiGiovanni, after returning to the city in 1980. She became the owner five years ago.
A number of issues, including high utility bills and parking problems, prompted Kennedy to look for smaller quarters in recent years.
The new site, which previously housed the Mango Grille and more recently The Keys Grille, piqued her interest last fall. She closed on the real estate deal a week after closing the Lawrence location for good.
With an occupancy permit for 88 seats, her new location is about a third the size of the old Cedar Crest, which had a 250-seat dining room and an attached lunch counter with 50 seats.
"It's kind of like moving from a mansion into a studio apartment," Kennedy said.
"The Cedar Crest in Lawrence was bigger, but not filled all the time. This place is smaller, but will be overflowing," she said.
The number of furnishings is just a fraction of what was pulled out of the old Cedar Crest. Light fixtures, furniture and other items are in storage space next-door at Juba Electric.
"If anyone wants to buy a piece of the old Cedar Crest, they can still do it," Kennedy said.
The piano that sits near the entrance is for sale, too.
"I love it, and I'd love to have a piano player," said Kennedy. "But we need the table space and can't afford the luxury of a piano."
Cedar Crest is using the same menus, though it had to remove some specials because it lacks the room to prepare the dishes.
"Our customers can still get their favorites — the cole slaw, chicken soup and "veals on heels." Among the most popular items are prime rib and the baked-stuff shrimp," she said.
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