Marshfield Family Restaurant is “very angry” in the community
Skender Ademi ran the Marshfield Family Restaurant for 20 years before retiring in 2016. It changed ownership several times before closing for good in August 2020.
MARSHFIELD — Earlier this year, we asked readers which past restaurants in the Marshfield area they missed most. Readers suggested nearly 20 restaurants they miss in the community. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be highlighting the top five restaurants our readers are missing the most.
We recently featured the Thomas House Restaurant at No.5.
No. 4: Marshfield Family Restaurant
Skander Adeyemi came to the United States from Macedonia in 1984. He started out as a bus driver at Kris’s Sidewalk Cafe at 443 S. Central Ave. He worked his way up until he eventually bought the restaurant and renamed it Marshfield Family Restaurant in 1996.
“Hard work pays off,” Adeyemi told the Marshfield News-Herald 20 years later.
The restaurant was known for its delicious, well-portioned traditional meals and its Ademi soup range.
Customers who responded to a News-Herald survey looking for the most missed restaurants in the community remember them for their “great atmosphere” and “corned beef omelettes.”
“Their unlimited fish during Lent, their amazing pancakes, and of course their generous portion of Alaskan waffles are all sorely missed here in our city,” one reader said.
Adeyemi retired in April 2016 after 20 years of owning the company, due to health issues. He turned the restaurant over to his friend Sandy Lepak and her daughter Mandy Lepak, who have worked at the restaurant for 19 years, according to News Herald archives.
At the time of his retirement, Adeyemi said he was proud of the business he built and the relationships he formed during more than 30 years in the restaurant business in Marshfield.
“I just want to thank Marshfield, the people and the customers, I’m going to miss them,” he told the News Herald. “I was truly honored to take care of them and serve them. I tried to provide them with the best food at low prices, and they helped build this restaurant from scratch. I appreciate them continuing to come in and giving me the opportunity to be someone. Without customers I am nobody.”
Sandy and Mandy said they didn’t plan to make many changes to the restaurant after Adeyemi retired, and that they planned to serve the same traditional food and soup the community has come to know. They’ve made some additions to the skillet and omelet portion of the menu and also, for the first time, offered wraps.
The Lebax family moved away from the business in 2018, and new owners Pedro and Branda Vieira reopened the Marshfield Family Restaurant in August 2018, after being closed for about a month.
Adeyemi served as a mentor to the couple, showing them the basics of the kitchen, including how to prepare the food that made the restaurant famous, including traditional meals like meatloaf and its daily specials.
Pedro had worked on and off at the restaurant since 2012, and Branda had been a waitress there before taking over ownership.
“We want to continue to offer favorites that the community enjoys and wants, but we’ve also expanded the menu, and now it has plenty of options for everyone,” Branda told the News-Herald.
The Vieyras navigated the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the statewide emergency order closing restaurants to dine-in service, but on August 18, 2020, they announced in a Facebook post that Marshfield Family Restaurant would be closing its doors.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances and situations that are not in our control, we will permanently close our doors on Sunday, August 23 at 2 p.m.… We are deeply sorry for how this decision has affected each of you. At the same time, we want to thank you all for your support in this two-year adventure, thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you and allowing us to be part of your family.
The restaurant has remained vacant since then.
On February 15, 2022, Eskandar Adeyemi died at the age of 67, “surrounded by those who loved him,” according to his obituary.
History 443 S. Central Ave. In Marshfield
Before it was Marshfield Family Restaurant, the space at 443 S. Central Ave. Downtown Marshfield is home to a number of restaurants.
The Arrow Eat Café opened during the Great Depression and was owned by Virgil and Irma Loiselle, according to News-Herald archives. Nickel-and-dime hamburgers, pie, and ice cream were observed, as well as 30-cent lunches.
It later became Pucker’s Quonset Grill.
In 1952, Pucker’s was purchased by Otto Schillinger and renamed it Otto’s Grill. In 1962, a new restaurant was built behind the Quonset Grill and the Quonset was removed. In June 1984, the former Otto’s Grill, which by then had been converted into an antique store, was purchased by Chris Schnitzler and reopened as Chris’ Sidewalk Cafe.
Since the restaurant was set back from the sidewalk, Schnitzler decided to convert part of the business into an outdoor café under a white wooden frame with hanging baskets of colorful flowers with yellow tables and red chairs, something very different from Marshfield’s other downtown restaurants. .
In 1996, the restaurant was sold to Skender Ademi, and the outdoor dining area was enclosed and added to the existing indoor area. The business became the Marshfield Family Restaurant.
Marshfield restaurants our readers are missing: Thomas House Restaurant was a “magical little gem”
Local classics: Here are the 5 oldest restaurants in the Marshfield area
Editor Jamie Rokus can be reached at jrokus@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @Jimmy_Ruckus.
