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Arts & Entertainment

Goldy's is Back in New London

Kitchen Staff Reflects on Popular Eatery, Past and Present

Lately, it’s felt like a time machine around here.  First, we found out that our favorite doughnut chain, Bess Eaton, was returning to the region.  Then, Goldy’s Restaurant—a fixture of 1980s and ‘90s New London—reappeared this winter at its old Colman Street location.  What’s next?  The Dukes of Hazzard on Friday nights?  Reagan for President in 2012?

My earliest memory of Goldy’s, one sunny afternoon before I turned double digits, looks as fuzzy now as the picture on our TV screen did back then when my friends and I figured out how to steal certain cable channels with a folded-up king of diamonds.  I can’t see what exactly was on my plate that day, but I think it might have been a B.L.T., with waffle fries and maybe cole slaw too.  My mother was sitting across the booth, her treat.

After 14 years gone, Goldy’s has returned under the management of the family of its original owner, Shelly Goldstein.  His daughter, Anita Miller, and granddaughter, Rachel Barclay, have reincarnated the restaurant with a mix of new employees and wise and seasoned Goldy’s veterans of yesteryear.  Similarly, they hope to win over new customers and win back their loyal fans of a generation ago.

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Among the newcomers in the kitchen are cooks Jared Roderick, 21, from New London, and Wells Grimes, in his fifties, from Colchester.  They join Goldy’s alums like Rick Nazarchyk, 56, of Waterford.  In our chef profile this month, we salute the cooks—of yesterday and today—at Goldy’s. 

Q1:  What’s your fondest Goldy's memory? 

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Rick Nazarchyk:  “When I would make small talk with Shelly and he wouldn’t talk to me.  He would just say, ‘Get back to work and quit talking.’”

Jared Roderick:  “My first day that I was hired!”

Q2:  What’s your best dish at Goldy's? 

Wells Grimes: “Secret recipe for chicken broccoli alfredo.”

Jared Roderick: “The Reuben omelette.”  Three eggs, corned beef, Thousand Island, and Swiss cheese.  “We’ve been serving a lot of fish and chips too.  People have commented that it’s good because the batter is light and the fish is not greasy at all.  It’s a good sized portion too, served with a large salad and cole slaw and choice of potato for $10.99.”

Q3:  Where did you learn to cook? 
Wells Grimes:  “I’m self-taught.”

Rick Nazarchyk: “I grew up working in various restaurants.”

Jared Roderick:  “At New London High School, from Mrs. Crouch.”  She was his home ec teacher.

Q4:  What chefs inspire you? 

Jared Roderick:  “Emeril, who happens to be my godmother’s cousin.”

Wells Grimes:  “Bobby Flay.”

Q5:  If you had catered the Last Supper, what would you have cooked for Jesus and his disciples?

Jared Roderick:  “Probably a 10-course meal of steak, shrimp, and lobster with lots of peanut butter pie!”

Wells Grimes:  “Anything he wanted!”

Rick Nazarchyk:  “I’d make him a Virgin Mary … or Angel food cake.”

Q6:  If you were headed to the electric chair tomorrow, what would you eat for your last supper?

Wells Grimes:  “A big, fat, juicy cheeseburger.”

Rick Nazarchyk:  “Definitely steak.”

Jared Roderick:  “Broccoli casserole.”

Q7:  If you weren't cooking for Goldy's, what would you do for a living? 

Jared Roderick:  “I would love to be cooking in New York City.”

Q8:  What is your favorite junk food?

Jared Roderick:  “I LOVE wings.  The hotter, the better.”

Q9:  What cooking tips can you offer to those of us who don’t know an oven mitt from a catcher’s mitt?

Jared Roderick:  “If you can’t cook, keep your kitchen clean—eat at Goldy’s!”

Anita Miller, owner:  “Our bumper stickers used to say, ‘Keep your kitchen clean, eat at Goldy’s.’”

Wells Grimes:  “Make reservations.”

Q10:  What lessons about life can we learn from a family restaurant?

Jared Roderick:  “Work together as a team.  Someone from the family is always at the restaurant to oversee things and greet customers.  It is a lot of hard work, but it is enjoyable.” 

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