It’s any day of the week, and the Harvard General Store is doing a lively business serving breakfast and lunch from 7 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Most of the tables are taken: people having business meetings over breakfast, and later groups and couples chatting over soup, sandwiches, and salads. On early-release days, elementary and middle schoolers swarm in for a social lunch. Throughout all this are the frequent calls from the back of the store: “Order for Sue,” “John?” “Steve, pick up,” each call accompanied by paper plates appearing on the back counter. Who is it behind there doing the cooking, filling a steady stream of orders for food?
Recently, the Press talked with line cook Kenny Morin, who grew up in Harvard. He, along with longtime Harvard friend Liam Norton, and more recent friend Ben Glover of Lancaster, works magic in the kitchen from 6:30 a.m. until the kitchen closes down at 3 p.m. The lunch menu goes into effect at 11 a.m.; the only breakfast item still available is the breakfast sandwich—no omelets or pancakes.
Kenny Morin dresses a kale salad. He has worked at the General Store on and off since 2016. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Asked how he learned to cook, Morin said he started working at the General Store in October 2016. “Scott [Hayward, store owner] taught me, and I became pretty good in a few months.” That August he left for the University of Hawaii. Norton took over his spot and stayed on when Morin returned to the store. Morin said he there was a lot to like about Hawaii but not the academics, partly because he felt the faculty didn’t care much about individual students.
Morin said the store is getting busier and busier. He said last summer and this past winter there were more customers than he remembers from previous years. No time to just hang out or be bored, which is fine with him. “I don’t want to stand around. I want to work,” said Morin. Asked about the crush of kids on early release days, he seemed to take it all in stride, implying that it is pretty easy. “Mostly the kids have grilled cheese and hot dogs.”
The joy of black bean mix
Morin said that among customers other than kids “the TBTA gets a lot of interest.” (TBTA: turkey, bacon, tomato, avocado, with special chipotle mayo.) The secret of the kale salad—a favorite with the Press staff—is that it is dressed in homemade lemon vinaigrette. “I love making the mix for the black bean burgers; it’s my favorite,” Morin said. He described how he mixes black beans, avocado, yellow onions, red peppers, and cumin, adds crushed corn tortilla chips to make it stick together and puts it in a blender to make a paste. He then adds whole beans to that base. He said that the bits of color from the onions and peppers make the mix aesthetically pleasing as well as tasty.
Cook Ben Glover slices cheese for the breakfast rush at the General Store
Preparing the bean burger mix is something Morin does ahead of time, after breakfast hours. He “opens” most days, arriving at the store at 6:30 a.m. He sets up the kitchen, gets bacon sizzling, and does other prep work for breakfast. Glover and Norton usually arrive at 10 a.m. In addition to doing a shift in the kitchen, Norton is responsible for ordering all the food and making sure the kitchen has everything it needs. “I love to cook,” said Morin; he wasn’t interested in taking on anything other than hands-on cooking.
How does it work with three cooks in the kitchen? “We’ve gotten really good at navigating the space,” said Morin. “There’s a lot of communication among us”—lots of “Behind yous” oand other such alerts. “We’re friends outside of work and so if we do get on each other’s nerves sometimes, we get over it quickly,” said Morin.
He pointed out a large hood over the stove, new since last summer. It will make a huge difference in the kitchen, not so hot and smokey, something Morin said he’ll really appreciate if this summer is as busy as last. New items on the menu are “Turkey Burger Royale,” which Morin hasn’t yet tasted but thinks is a good addition, and “The Best Beet Burger,” which is an additional vegan offering. Later, Hayward gave context to the beet burger: “We try very hard at the General to produce vegan and vegetarian foods that are as good as, if not better than, animal-based foods. It is a huge aspiration of ours to have the best vegan menu in the area.” Of the new beet burger, he said it’s made from scratch and “out of this world.”
Asked if he has any long-term goal of being a chef in a restaurant, Morin answers right away with a shake of his head. The idea of working 5 p.m. to midnight has no appeal. He likes his mornings. On those days when he’s not cooking at the General, Morin helps his dad, who is in the business of repairing commercial kitchen equipment. “So I’m in a kitchen every day,” he laughs.
The line cooks are doing their part in making the General a popular place to have breakfast or lunch right in the center of town. There is camaraderie among them, good rapport with the customers, and pride in their work. As Morin is fond of saying, “I don’t serve the second best.”
