Earl and Flora Handy opened Handy’s Lunch in 1945, serving breakfast and lunch and selling groceries.  While on vacation in 1958 their son Robert replaced grocery sales with a horseshoe counter which is still there today.  The senior Handy’s were not pleased and Robert became the proprietor until his passing in 1996 when grandson Earl took over.  That third generation still runs the place today, which was featured in the 2017 Cooking Channel’s Cheap Eats program.   It is truly a family operation with Earl’s mom working there until she passed away.   Whether his twins will take over when Earl is done is in question but until then it’s a wonderful place to go, eat and visit with newly made friends.  They are open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch and Earl Handy was working in the place when we stopped by.  Parking is on the street wherever you can find a legal place.  Put this place on your list.

Set-up

 

There’s some fun art and lots of sports photos on the walls.  One particular piece was the shape of Vermont made from past license plates from Robert’s old cars.  It was made by an artist that ate there. A number of the sports photos are signed as a number of them have eaten there.  The sign over the door to the basement stairs  says “Steak House Closed” on the door.  It’s a place with a lot of history and fun decorations.

 

Food

We enjoyed the Big Daddy Breakfast which includes 2 pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, 2 eggs (your way), bacon, sausage, homies (potatoes) and toast.  It was more than I could eat but not as much as the Chuck Norris, that’s been featured in some competitions.  That one has 5 pieces of French toast with 4 eggs, cheese, bacon, ham, sausage, cheeseburger and corned beef.  On my plate the eggs were cooked as ordered, over easy and stayed nicely runny.  The freshly chopped potatoes were slightly crisped on the exterior.  The bacon was thin and slightly crisp but the sausage patty was a real star – tender, juicy and full of flavor.  The toast was good and came already buttered.  The pancakes were very tasty, especially with the wonderful maple syrup.  It was a terrific breakfast but the welcoming feel of the place would be an additional reason to go back.