Adams' Daily Grind Celebrates 25 Years in Business
ADAMS, Mass. — The Daily Grind is celebrating 25 years in business on Park Street.
Town officials marked the occasion last week by gifting owners Ben Acquista and Nancy Pedercini-Acquista with a plaque and an engraved spatula.
"It's remarkable, isn't it," Ben Acquista said. "I don't know that it was the dream when we started, but I think it definitely became the dream."
The 37 Park St. restaurant first opened in 1997 at its original location at No. 57. Pedercini-Acquista said they were both 24 when they started out and hoped, at the time, the people of Adams would want to try something new.
"We were both out of college and trying to find our own path in life and trying to decide how we could make each other happy," she said. "And we always made each other happy cooking."
Acquista said he is thankful for everyone involved in Daily Grind's success over the last quarter-century, including employees, town officials and the Adams community.
"It's not always perfect, but, in the end, it worked, and we're so grateful. And it wasn't just our employees. It was the community in so many ways," he said.
Pedercini-Acquista said her kids often spent time at the restaurant before school, jokingly referring to it as their bus stop. She said some of her favorite memories of the business involve her children, the first of whom was born three years after the restaurant opened.
"There's so many memories that have my kids in this business that those three years before doesn't even matter anymore ... Those are the best years, every moment that we had with them here," she said.
Acquista said the memories that stick with him the most involve the generosity of the people of Adams. One example was when the Daily Grind moved to its new location, and 15 regulars showed up to help move.
"I had a professional plumber who ended his day early just in case we needed help piping things. Everybody helped until it was late on Saturday, and then a bunch of them came back on Sunday, and everybody cleaned," he said. "And then they showed back up on Monday and paid for their food like they weren't family, but how do you not think of them as family at that point?"
Particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Acquista, people in the community tried to help out in whatever way they could.
"We had people buy gift certificates, and I'd be like, 'Do you want to envelope for that?' And they were like, 'Listen, I'm throwing this out as soon as I leave here. It's really a donation,'" he said. "And that wasn't a singular case. They wanted when everything was done for us to still be here."
When asked what they have learned after 25 years, Pedercini-Acquista said reflecting on past experiences and learning from them has been the biggest lesson.
"We have to look at what we've done today, and we have to make sure that we have it right so that tomorrow we can do it again," she said. "And if we didn't do it right, we have to figure out how to do it so that we can keep moving forward."
Acquista said he has learned to become more thoughtful and generous because of the Daily Grind.
"I've taken that into my life, how I look to treat other people and the generosity that people have shown to us and how we appreciate that," he said. "I definitely try and reflect that into my own life I think I've learned how to be a better person by being here."
The restaurant open at 7 a.m. daily and serves breakfast and lunch until 3 on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, until noon on Sunday and is open until 8 p.m. Wednesday to Friday. See the menu here.
Tags: anniversary, restaurants,
