Via Community News Service, a VTSU-Castleton internship, for Rutland Herald
WEST RUTLAND — After serving West Rutland for over two decades, Mary’s Café has begun a new chapter.
In April, longtime owner Mary Burke passed the torch to her grandson, Makana Burke, to take over the business and keep the beloved local spot thriving.
“I was very happy that he decided to step up. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t have done it. I would have just folded it up. I couldn’t sell it to just anybody. I am very happy that he decided to stay with it,” Mary said.
Mary Burke worked at Luke’s Place and Southside Steakhouse restaurants in Rutlandbefore purchasing the location in 1997 with the help of her late husband, John Lafond.
Makana said his childhood summers were spent with his grandmother at the café.
“I didn’t grow up here. My connection to Gram and the café is that every summer, I was sent here from Minnesota. I spent all of the summer here. We didn’t really have daycare, so I just followed my Gram around and learned all about the business,” Makana said.
In addition to spending summers in Rutland, Makana has also moved between Vermont and other states many times. He attended Mount St. Joseph Academy for ninth grade, then returned to Minnesota for the remainder of high school. After graduating, Burke co-founded a clothing business called 9 Design and attended the Art Institute of Minneapolis for fashion photography.
“I moved to California. I was a location manager for a company called LAZ. They own a lot of garages. I supervised five of them in West Hollywood. That’s where my management experience took off,” he said. “I’ve done three or four entrepreneurial groups, just to get to know what the language is, what business is really about. When I moved back here, it all came together. It’s kind of like the universe trained me for all these years, and then it finally was here.”
Makana finally returned to Rutland in 2022 to help the family with the restaurant after the pandemic.
In November of last year, Mary told the family it was time for her to step back from owning, but Makana said he was willing to pick up the work.
“We have completely redone everything. Since April, I’ve redone our backstock, remodeled the kitchen, installed new floors, new walls and new bathrooms. There’s still more to come. All to make the operation a lot easier and quicker,” Makana said.
Changes at the restaurant weren’t just physical, but also transitions in routines for those who work there.
Shelby Jackson has worked at the restaurant for seven years, starting as a server and now overseeing staff and operations.
“When the transition happened, that’s when I started ordering inventory, placing inventory in the back, making sure we had everything that we needed. Going to each table — ‘How is everything?’” she said. “When we have new (employees) come in, I’m the one training them. I know the advice to give because I know what I wanted to hear when I was in that position. Things like that have changed for me, just that overall role of guidance.”
Mary’s routine has also changed, now coming in at 7:30 a.m. instead of 5 a.m., and she can now leave before 6 p.m. She’s still in the restaurant every day by choice, making pies, biscuits and muffins, saying she “just can’t get away.”
With the change in ownership, Makana aims to do more to connect with the community, including using the Mary’s Café Facebook page more for announcements.
“We want to do more community events. We want to sell shirts, sweatshirts, and hats. I want Mary’s Café to be a part of Rutland culture, not just the place you eat, but when you see someone who has the sweatshirt, you already know you can talk to them without even having to know who they are. ‘Oh, Mary’s Café.’ There’s already a connection there. Reach more people and be more impactful in other ways,” he said.
The local area has also responded with a positive attitude about the turnover.
“(Makana) taking over the restaurant has completely transformed Mary’s Café in a positive way,” said local resident Chelsi Boyd. “He’s done a bunch of renovations and given it a modern touch, but still keeping that homey feeling. We absolutely love the café and we won’t stop going there, especially now.”
Twenty-year customer Joanne Burns feels similar.
“They cater to everybody. They try to make everybody happy with their food and with everything. It’s a good place to get away for a little while. I meet a lot of locals there that go all the time. I know the whole family now, and they’re very sweet people, very lovely. Makana is so great,” she said.
Looking toward the future, Makana said he hopes to improve on Mary’s with a potential food truck and introducing catering. Away from the restaurant, he hopes to own more spaces in the coming years.
“My whole life, I’ve always told her: ‘Gram, there’s gonna be a day I’m gonna be able to give back to you,’ and this is that opportunity,” he said.