Fred Villa has spent years helping the Abington community that’s made his restaurant, Martin’s, a fixture in North Abington Center.
He’s opened early during snowstorms to provide coffee to plow drivers. He’s made the modest function room in the back available to community groups for free. And for the past three years, he’s hosted a monthly gathering of local veterans for breakfast – at no cost.
However, now it’s the community rallying to help Villa following a small kitchen fire at Martin’s last month. Villa originally hoped to reopen within a matter of days. However, that timeline is now looking more like a few months as the restaurant requires a much more extensive overhaul than initially expected.
“It’s opened up a can of worms, as we call it,” said Villa. “We open up the wall, that’s something new. It’s electrical, plumbing, painting, the furniture.”
A fundraising page has been set up to help support Martin’s employees, who are now out of work. So far it’s raised more than $15,000.
“My heart breaks for them knowing they’re going to go through hard times because of the fire,” said Abington Veterans Agent Adam Gunn, who created the page. “I’ve heard countless stories of family memories over the years of how Martin’s has impacted their lives, and I knew Abington would support them in return.”
Sarcastic Swine has also stepped up and will be catering the April veterans breakfast to ensure the event continues on while Martin’s is fixed up.
“We didn’t think the veterans should have to miss a month where it’s something we could handle,” said Sarcastic Swine owner and chef Mike Crooks.
The April Veterans Breakfast, scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, will be held at the Louis V. Dorsey Post #112 in Abington.
A quick smoky fire
Martin’s had closed for the day on March 10 when Villa received a call from his niece, who lives in an apartment above the restaurant, that there was smoke coming from the building. Villa came back to the restaurant and found a small, smoky fire in the kitchen, which is located between the two sitting areas. He was able to put it out using a fire extinguisher.
Villa believes something dripped onto a pilot light, setting off the fire.
Although the fire was contained within the cooking area, the damage from the smoke was more extensive.
The seating areas on both sides have been cleared out, including the wood paneling. The drop ceilings have been pulled down. And the beloved collection of photos of elected officials – including then Congressman John F. Kennedy – posing in the bakery kitchen have been put in storage.
Upgrades coming to a historic building
The two-story commercial building at 205 North Avenue that first housed Martin’s Bakery is more than 200 years old. It was originally a stagecoach stop and boarding house for people traveling between Boston to Plymouth. The second floor is now apartments, but many of the doors still feature the original boarding room locks.
The Villa family bought Martin’s Bakery in 1945. It originally was limited to just the right side of the building, with a cobbler in the middle, and a five-and-dime on the left side. Villa said since he was the youngest of his brothers, it has his job to crawl inside the bakery cases and clean the glass.
After a fire drove the cobbler out in 1959, Martin’s expanded into the center shop and added a lunch counter. David Nisby opened up his barbershop on the other side of the building around this time and stayed there until he purchased the building across the street in the 70s. At that time, the Villa family added a second seating area on the left, with the kitchen straddling the two sides.
Martin’s ended the bakery business – known for half-moon cookies and danishes and lemon drop cupcakes – in the early 1990s.
Pieces of the building’s long history are evident as renovations get underway. The drop ceiling has been removed revealing 14-foot high tin ceilings. At one spot, multiple layers of flooring are visible. The structure’s original framing – complete with 18-inch fir planks and hand-made nails – is visible in places for the first time in decades.
Removing smoke damaged materials has also revealed the need for additional critical improvements to the aging building. For example, the building’s eastern wall is no longer plumb after decades of New England freeze and thaw cycles. And there’s some knob and tube wiring that needs to be upgraded, not to mention replacing every piece of equipment in the kitchen.
In all, Villa says Martin’s will be closed for the next three to four months while all the improvements are made, the kitchen is replaced, and the restaurant is prepared for the next 70 years of business.
“At the end of this, I’m going to have a brand new building,” he said. “It all has to be brought up to code.”
Villa said he does have one big improvement planned: He hopes to start serving ice cream, sundaes, frappes, hot dogs and other snacks to keep the lunch counter open later into the afternoon and evenings.
A helping hand
The good news, Villa says, is that all the damages are covered by insurance. What isn’t covered are paychecks for his loyal team of employees.
That’s where Gunn stepped in. He sees it as a way to support a business that’s supported the towns and its veterans.
“Abington is a unique town that supports its veterans like no others around,” Gunn said. “Any time I ask [Villa] for anything, his response is always, “Anything for the Veterans, Adam!”
Anyone interested in making a donation can do so either through the online page, or by sending a check to Adam Gunn, PO BOX 2150, Abington, MA 02351. Checks should be made out to J & P Restaurant Corp.
To keep an arm’s distance, Villa said his son has been entrusted with overseeing the fund and making disbursements.
Villa said he’s appreciative of all the people who have reached out since the fire. When asked what else people can do, his response was simple:
“After all this, I’d like to see all the [customers] come back.”
April Veterans breakfast at the American Legion Post in Abington
With Martin’s closed, the April veterans breakfast is being relocated to the American Legion Louis V. Dorsey Post #112, located on Washington Street. It will be free to veterans as always.
Sarcastic Swine, an award-winning barbeque shop in Abington, is catering the event. Crooks, whose father is a veteran, said the menu will feature homemade corn muffins, bacon, sausage home fries, eggs, and pancakes.
Crooks said he didn’t hesitate to help out a fellow Abington restaurant in its moment of need.
“We’re all in the same boat,” he said.
Villa is hoping another restaurant or group can pick up the May and June breakfasts.
“I’d like to thank Adam and Sarcastic Swine, and I’d like to see somebody else pick it up after that too,” he said.
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