The Place To Be

Walking down Wickenden Street on a Sunday morning, you’ve probably seen Amy’s Place. The nook eatery has been there for almost 20 years, which is no small feat considering the barrage of restaurants that have come and gone on the East Side throughout the years. This summer, the breakfast/lunch joint is making cosmetic upgrades and rebranding. But aside from the face lift, it’s not the improvements that keep this spot going, it’s the service and what owner Amy Cary calls “good help.”

The breakfast spot opened after Amy and her grandmother made a spur-of-the-moment decision to buy her current space. After graduating college, Amy realized that she wanted to open her own restaurant – working a food sales/service job on campus gave her an inkling about her career path. The owner recalls how she started out with low-cost equipment, using hot plates that plugged into the exposed kitchen’s wall. She later made major upgrades.

When it comes to her methods of achieving success, Amy says that hard work, great service, and trustworthy staff has sustained the Wickenden mainstay. “[I’ve learned you have to] treat your staff like your family, and not work in your business, work for it.” The owner also loves interacting with the customers, especially when they are scarfing down a smoothie or her famous Hangover Sandwich. 214 Wickenden Street