After a lifetime in the restaurant business, Tavern on Main’s Lumnah is set to begin his next chapter

GLOCESTER –After over a half century working in restaurants, including the last 17 years of running Tavern on Main, Dave Lumnah, 71, is retiring.

“My mother (Louise) was a waitress, and I used to go to the little restaurant where she worked and help out,” recalled Lumnah. “My first restaurant job was at Johhny Shadow’s in Lincoln as a 15-year-old kid, cleaning the place. My first actual restaurant job was at Cocke ‘n Kettle in Uxbridge, just before it was Cocke ‘n Kettle, as a bus kid.”

When it became Cocke ‘n Kettle, he remained and moved up as a waiter, but there was a catch with the Greek-owned restaurant.

“I had to learn the menu in Greek,” said Lumnah.

That did not stop the ambitious young man. He continued to move on eventually earning a place in the kitchen as a cook, and, finally, chef.

“I just kept moving up the ladder,” Lumnah recalled. “I was their first American chef.”

The Greek owners, he added, worked and worked, sometimes putting in 17 hour work days. To help out, they found an apartment nearby for their new chef within walking distance so there would not be a problem showing up or traveling late hours. He remained there as a chef for about 10 years. When Wright’s Farm Restaurant offered him a position, he accepted it, but only stayed briefly before moving on. His next gig was in Warren at The Chalet, which, he discovered, was Mafia-owned at the time.

“I’m in the car getting ready to go to work, and the FBI is there taking pictures,” laughed Lumnah.

Eventually, he wound up at the now defunct Stateline Diner in West Glocester, where he stayed for about five years before moving on, once again, to a friend’s restaurant, Brian’s in Northbridge, Mass.

“He treated me like gold,” said Lumnah. “I never would have left there. I never paid for gas or a car.”

Gene Waterman, the owner of what was then The Stagecoach in Chepachet, offered him the business opportunity of purchasing the historical tavern in Chepachet. Lumnah had driven by the restaurant a number of times, especially while working at the Stateline, but had never been inside.

“He just came in and made this offer,” he said. “It was a sweet offer. I had gone by and heard about it when I was working at the Stateline. I just thought I was either going to do it now or never.”

That was 17 years ago, when Lumnah was 55. He has been there ever since.

Asked why he chose a life in the restaurant business, Lumnah said he likes cooking, as well as seeing customers enjoy what he cooks and talking to them.

“I like making the specials and seeing people’s reactions,” Lumnah said. “I will miss them, but it is not going to bring me back.”

There have been many challenges over the years for the restaurant at 1157 Putnam Pike, one of the focal points of the historic district, including getting help from time to time, and the cost of food, especially in later years.

“When I first started, there was no problem getting help,” recalled Lumnah. “Bartenders, waitresses, everybody was here forever. Now that has changed. Also, it is dealing with the price of food and trying to make it reasonable for people. You try to make it town-friendly and work off the ambiance of the building, you know?”

That ambiance includes the 1700s restaurant’s history of being a part of the Dorr Rebellion. A rebel Dorr soldier was shot through the front door keyhole, when soldiers sent from Providence by Governor King were trying to quell the rebellion, or so the story goes. Then there is the ghost, named “Alice,” who reportedly shows up from time to time to sit in one of the booths. The restaurant is widely considered to be one of the most haunted locations in the state.

Covid-19 was another big obstacle, which destroyed some restaurants, but not Tavern on Main.

“We did a good business in Covid,” said Lumnah. “A lot of people said they came because they were afraid we would go under. Mother’s Day, four o’clock, we have three people running in and out. The line was on the side of the road back to CVS. Not in a million years I would have thought that would happen.”

Being chief cook and bottle washer comes with responsibilities, he explained. Twelve hour days are the norm, not the exception. Add to that being open except for a brief break after the 4^th of July and New Year’s Day leaves little time for other things, including vacations and spending time with family.

“I’ve never gone anywhere in my whole life because I have always worked,” Lumnah said. “My wife has haunted me over the years about retiring.”

When he retires, he will move to Virginia where his wife, Kristin, is working, kick back and relax for a change.

“I’m just going to treat myself to doing nothing,” Lumnah said with a chuckle. “Eventually, I may end up doing something for one or two days. I know I won’t be able to sit.”

The restaurant, however, will continue under the management of his daughter, Chelsea, along with Chelsea’s boyfriend, Phil Zahlany, a certified chef.

“They are going to stay with the menu,” said Lumnah. “But, there will be some changes. They are going to do more things though too.”