PAT AND KATHI LEE officially retire as owners of the Horseshoe this Sunday, Oct. 31. The public is welcome to stop by from 12-3 p.m. to wish them well. Staff members are invited back from 4-7 p.m. and family members from 7-9 p.m. (Maureen Doherty Photo)

 


By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — After 95 years and four generations of family ownership, the landmark Horseshoe Grille on Main Street officially changes hands November 1.

It is a day that so many thought would never arrive. After all, there is virtually not anyone alive in town today who has not known anyone but a member of the Lee family to be affiliated with the ‘Shoe.

But Pat and Kathi Lee, the fourth-generation owners, believe now is the right time for them to retire from the business.

They have guided the growth of the restaurant for the past 36 years, transforming it from the Horseshoe Lounge as it was known when it was run by his parents, Pat and Veronica Lee, from 1955 to 1985, into the Horseshoe Cafe in the late-1980s with a southwest BBQ flair and stage for live bands.

In the early 2000s they went through another transition when they tore down the restaurant that his father had built 1960 on the spot where the original Horseshoe Club had been located. The most recent expansion also included tearing down the attached house where Pat had grown up. On April 11, 2005, they re-opened as the Horseshoe Grille with an emphasis on casual, more upscale dining.

“The demographics of the town had changed and the town was looking for a polished casual concept — not your TGI Fridays or Outbacks, but something a little better. Not fine dining, but that sweet spot in the middle — getting better service levels, better ambiance. And it is because the Baby Boomer had come to North Reading. Their kids had grown up and they had done all the McDonald’s and the Wendy’s and Chuck E. Cheeses they could handle. Now it was time for them to have a better meal with background music and lighting levels that weren’t bright warehouse lighting,” Pat said.

Kathi adds that the families continued to come too, including those whose young children would request to come to the Horseshoe for their birthday parties and other family milestones. This made the Lees happy because they have always been family-oriented too. They have four kids of their own, ranging in age from 25 to 40, as well as four grandchildren.

 

YOUNG PAT LEE at about age 3 sitting on the bar at the Horseshoe Lounge while his father Pat tends bar. (Courtesy Photo)

 

“We are 100% comfortable with our children making the decisions they made to lead the lives they choose to lead and we are very proud of each and every one of them and their accomplishments,” Pat says. “It’s all good with the Lees!”

Their oldest, PJ and his wife Melissa and their 5-year-old daughter Mia, live in Plano, Texas. Christina and her husband Clay Thomas live in Durham, N.C. with their children, Aiden and William. Jaclyn and her husband Peter Botzko just had a daughter 7 weeks ago who they named Mackenzi. And their youngest, Brian, is currently working at the Horseshoe and also has a passion for music.

Like Pat, all of the kids grew up in the business and learned their work ethic as well as the importance of giving back to the community while working at the Horseshoe. And many of their significant life moments occurred at the restaurant as well. Christina had gotten engaged here and the Lees also transformed the restaurant into her wedding venue.

“Jaclyn and Pete met here and we catered their wedding. It was the Covid wedding in our backyard,” Kathi said. “It was a beautiful day! We said our prayers.”

“We have had significant events happen in the old building as well as this one,” Pat recalls. “It is bittersweet. But retirement will give us the opportunity to do things we haven’t been able to do before.”

They’ll miss being involved in the milestone celebrations the most — the christenings, graduations, birthday and Christmas parties, weddings and anniversaries. These are the memorable moments they were able to share with their family as well as the lifelong friendships with staff and customers developed over the decades. Pat and Kathi also passed a milestone of their own recently — the 50th anniversary of their first date!

However, they both emphasize that they are not leaving town; they’ll remain on Aspen Road and continue to be involved in their charitable endeavors, including the Horseshoe’s Jimmy Fund Golf Tournament, which has raised close to $750,000 for cancer research and care, and St. Theresa’s Church and their affiliation with the Food Pantry and all things Hornets.

In fact, Pat is staying on in an advisory role for the next six months to guide the new owners, Brad Atkinson, Ryan Cox and Noah Goldstein, who are known as The Farm Group. Pat said they own several other restaurants in the region, each with a unique identity, such as The Lobster Pool in Rockport and The Millers Tavern in Methuen. And when he sold them the business, he also sold the recipes, so customers will be assured of getting their same favorite dishes. Pat also stressed that he required the new owners to offer every staff member a job. So even though you will not always see the Lees in the building, you will know their staff.

One of his most important roles over the next six months, he believes, is guiding the new owners to become part of the fabric of the community through giving back. This will include the November tradition of donating $1 from every dessert sold in the month of November to the North Reading Food Pantry and then supporting the Transcript’s Neighbor Helping Neighbor Fund during the month of December with the gift card sale promotion of giving customers the option to donate $20 back from every $100 in gift cards sold to that fund, which supports Christian Community Service, the nonprofit that runs the Food Pantry. They will also continue to provide hot Thanksgiving meals that will be delivered to shut-ins by CCS volunteers — the elderly, veterans and some Food Pantry clients.

And the only day of year when they are open for breakfast is Thanksgiving — for the pre- and post-Turkey Trot and pre-Thanksgiving Game celebrations.

Then, it’s on to Christmas, when Santa’s mailbox will magically appear in the lobby. Hundreds of children who mail their letters to Santa each Christmas season get a reply back when they drop it off inside this magical mailbox.

Being a 51-percenter

Instilling a strong work ethic in his staff — especially the young men and women who have started their working careers at the ‘Shoe — has been the most rewarding for Pat. He emphasizes the importance of always being a team player. When he gives two people a task to accomplish together he does not want each one to only contribute 50% to the job at hand. He is looking for those workers who willingly give 51% every time, no matter how minute the task may seem, be it busing tables, washing dishes or rolling silverware into cloth napkins. Those are the people who will become valuable co-workers and employees. And when workers learn such skills at a young age it will carry them through to success on wherever their path in life is destined to be.

Halloween Open House

How do you say goodbye? Throw yourself a party!

This Sunday is Halloween and it is also the last day the Lees will own the Horseshoe. So they are throwing themselves a party!

They will be open to the public from noon to 3 p.m. They have reserved time with just their staff members from 4-7 p.m. and they will then have just their family members present from 7 to 9 p.m.

Veronica and Pat Lee had bought the Horseshoe from her uncle, John Twomey, who owned the Horseshoe Club from 1934 to 1955. Mr. Twomey was living in Ireland in the 1930s when his cousin, D.P. Murphy, the original owner of the ‘Shoe, convinced him to come to America and buy the Horseshoe, which Murphy had run from 1926 to 1934, during Prohibition, back when the drink of choice (or necessity) at the club was cider. When Twomey was ready to retire, his children did not want to carry it on so he offered it to his favorite niece and her husband… and the rest is now history.

Veronica, who is now 94 and lives with Pat and Kathi, will be at the party looking forward to greeting old friends. She has already told her son that she wants to be the last person to walk out the door when the party is over and they put the key in the door.