Farmer's Diner nabs former Top Spice space Local fare to open in four weeks

Author: Amanda Cormier

The battle between the smell of heavy-duty citrus degreasing solution and the smell of grease itself was a losing one.

On April 11, about 12 students from the College took copper scrubbers to the walls and appliances of what was formerly occupied by Top Spice Asian Cuisine. Just two nights before, the restaurant was operating.

And when Tod Murphy stepped into the place - where he planned to open the newest branch of The Farmer's Diner in May - he found it as if the previous owners had never left, food, furniture, and grease notwithstanding.

Murphy plans to open the diner's doors sometime in the next four weeks. His biggest worry?

"Everything," he said. "Equipment needs to be ordered, and we need to clean this place out."

Although Murphy hired a team of private contractors to help him with cleaning and construction, he reached out to College Organic Garden Adviser Jay Leshinsky to recruit students in his efforts. In exchange for gift certificates, the students cleaned out the kitchen.

"A bunch of the [contractors] who were there on Friday were bedazzled by the change in the kitchen, and the fact that it was college kids who did that, since there's a general sense that the work ethic of [college kids] is not as strong as the one demonstrated," Murphy said.

Murphy closed the deal with the owners of Top Spice in mid-March. He plans to make the spot a place where residents can find an entirely local breakfast or lunch at a reasonable price.

"Diners have a tendency to be a breakfast and lunch kind of place, so I think there's room for that [in Marble Works]," he said.

Although the diner won't be purchasing from the College's Organic Garden, Murphy hopes to collaborate with the College in other ways. Murphy and Leshinsky have discussed starting a greenhouse for greens in the winter. Murphy hopes to reach out to students primarily through the diner's menu.

"One of the things we'd like to do is a late-night menu on weekends, because where do you go after 2 a.m. for coffee?" he said.

Before the diner opens, Murphy has other, less exciting things to process, particularly in this week's "cleaning" stage. One College student posed one of these issues succinctly while clearing out garbage:

"Is this water or oil?"

"I think it's gross," Murphy said.