Olsen's Was A Local Icon

Olsen's Was A Local Icon
Mike Richard
The Gardner Scene

Photo by MIKE RICHARD, above; courtesy photo, left JK Crossroads Restaurant of East Templeton, above, opened in 2011. Olsen’s, left, was a local dining favorite for nearly 60 years.
 
EAST TEMPLETON — As I recall it, my first trip to Olsen’s Restaurant occurred exactly 40 years ago this summer.

At the urging of a friend who lived in Templeton, I was told that Olsen’s made a delicious Lime Rickey. However, more important was that it was served up by some of the area’s most beautiful college-aged girls that the snack bar employed during the summer months.

I accompanied my pal to the spot where my thirst was appropriately quenched by the refreshing Lime Rickey — and true to form, it was doled out by one of Olsen’s lovely young lasses who worked the ice cream fountain.

No, I never did forget my first trip to the East Templeton landmark.

Ah, but I digress.

For nearly 60 years, Olsen’s was a favorite for many generations of patrons since Norway-born Ole Olsen first built the place in 1946 and opened it for the first time a year later, nestled between the former Monette Block and the GAR Hall.

“There was a pool room and a barber shop where the (former Olsen’s) building is today,” explained Ole’s son, Bob Olsen, “and where the current parking lot is was the big block.”

The Monette Block was a triple-decker, so named because Harvey Monette’s barber shop was located underneath it.

“We used to call him ‘Hackaway Harvey,’” Olsen reca­lled with a laugh.

Originally known as the Robert McGowan Building, the three-decker Monette Block was destroyed by fire in 1950.

“(Monette) sold my father the property where the restaurant is now and there was a poolroom setting behind the restaurant,” Olsen said. “Tom Royer later fixed it up and moved it across the street, and it is now a rental house.”

Bob Olsen recalled he used to run the poolroom when he was about 13 years old while his dad was building the restaurant.

“Every kid in town had a shovel and they shoveled the cellar hole out by hand,” Olsen recalled. “I don’t think there was much done by machine. That was quite process doing that.”

Originally, Olsen’s Ice Cream Bar — as it was called — started out as a convenience store with a soda fountain and a little grill that made hot dogs and hamburgers.

“Eventually the dining room and a full kitchen area were added on,” Olsen said, noting that the business turned into a true family affair.

Bob’s dad, Ole Olsen, and his brother, Hans, ran the place, which later became a full restaurant as the years went by. In addition, Ole’s father, Jems Olsen, also from Norway, used to walk from his home in Gardner to East Templeton while in his 80s to peel potatoes.

Bob’s sister, Arlene (Olsen) Ferrier, also worked there, “before I even wanted to,” she recalled with a chuckle.

“At lunchtime I would leave the grammar school and jerk soda and help out a little bit, and then go back to school,” she said. “I would also guard the candy counter so the kids wouldn’t steal the candy.”

In addition to the burgers, hot dogs and other little sandwiches on a little grill, Ole Olsen later expanded the eatery with a deep fryer and a bigger grill behind the counter. Fried clams and scallops were also a specialty.

Ole Olsen’s first wife, Helga, passed away in 1960, and he later married his second wife, Alma, who had been a sergeant in the Army. She was hired on as a cook and the restaurant expanded even more with a larger dining room and an even bigger kitchen.

After Ole ran the place until 1975, his daughter, Arlene, and her former husband, David Ferrier, operated Olsen’s for almost 30 years. In addition, Bob’s daughter, Sheryl Fontaine, and all of Arlene’s kids worked there, making it a three-generation Olsen family operation.

Olsen’s closed sometime around 2006 and remained vacant for about five years. Tom O’Brien, who formerly operated Brazell’s Package Store in Gardner, purchased the building and renovated it completely, and his restaurant, JK Crossroads, had its official opening on March 7, 2011.

“There always seemed to be a lot of traffic in that area and there wasn’t much in the way of restaurants around,” O’Brien said. “I thought it would be a good place to open up. In its heyday it was a great place and very busy, so we thought let’s give it a shot.”

At the suggestion of Temp­leton resident Wayne Ronn, O’Brien called it Crossroads because, “(Wayne) said that it was located at the intersection of five streets, which came together and I liked the name,” he said.

The JK stands for O’Brien’s stepchildren who play a prominent role at the restaurant — Jeff (Hebert) is the chef while Krista (Richards) serves as the restaurant manager.

“We completely gutted (the restaurant). There were several different small dining rooms, so we took down some walls and made it one open area,” said O’Brien. “We moved the bar way back, because it used to be in the middle of the room.”

There are also some other unique items built into the restaurant that make for interesting conversation pieces.

First of all, one wall contains some bricks from a couple of Gardner landmarks that have been razed. There are two bricks from a former Heywood Wake­field smokestack, while another was obtained from the former Wheelen House (later Wayno’s Dugout).

In addition, sections of the restaurant have glass etchings on the half-walls depicting historic buildings representing the five different precincts of Templeton.

Also, Templeton Historical Society president Brian Tanguay has made available many prints and old photos to portray the history of the town.

O’Brien has been very pleased with the business his restaurant has done in the past four years, noting that some 15 or 20 members of the Narragansett Class of 1965 hold monthly lunch gatherings on the first Friday of each month.

Crossroads has certainly bec­ome a welcome addition for area diners looking for another local restaurant option.

And if you ask at the bar, you might even be able to order a Lime Rickey to remember your special visit there.

(Comments and suggestions for The Gardner Scene can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing c/o The Gardner News, 309 Central St. Gardner, MA 01440.)