Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
FRANKLIN, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A version of the Red Wing Diner has reopened at a new location in Franklin nearly a year after the beloved seafood and pizza spot shuttered in Walpole.
The iconic spot off of Route 1 had been open in one form or another for nearly a century. But back in September of last year, the Red Wing posted on Facebook that it would be temporarily closed for repairs. By October, the restaurant was up for sale.
“It was devastating to me and my family when the Red Wing closed. We did everything we could to keep it open,” Lisa Truax, the Red Wing’s longtime general manager, said.
Truax worked at the restaurant for 25 years, and was its manager for 12 years. She practically raised her kids there. So she knew she had to do something.
Photo: Chaiel Schaffel/WBZ NewsRadio
Truax had just bought another restaurant in Franklin, a breakfast spot called the King Street Café, when the Red Wing went out of business.
“So, I’m here. I have this huge restaurant and the space to bring back Red Wing,” she said.
The King Street Café is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. But from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day, it transforms into the Red Wing. It has basically the same menu, and even the same head chef in the back of the house — Executive Chef Lucas Zacarias. The only thing missing from the old menu is pizza.
“It feels good to be here, working for Red Wing again, because we have so many customers asking for the food I used to cook there,” Zacarias said.
“It’s the same recipe,” Truax said. “You’re going to get the same clam plate that you loved for all those years right here.”
Regulars have been streaming back in since a soft-opening last week.
“The people that have come in have been so thrilled,” Truax said. “Some people put that first clam in their mouth and cry.”
They had to train a whole new staff, so there has been little advertising so far. But, there will be a grand opening on Thursday.
WBZ NewsRadio's Chaiel Schaffel (@CSchaffelWBZ) reports
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