Remembering Dot Merrill
By Kimberly Shurig
Food and Beverage Columnist
On Oct. 17, 2017, two weeks after celebrating her 95th Birthday and just two months out from celebrating Merrill’s Colonial Inn, the Weymouth Township restaurant’s 59th anniversary, Dot Merrill passed away, leaving her daughter, Angel, at the helm.
This mother-daughter duo was by each other’s side for the past 28 years. Although sad at not having her mom by her side, Angel said she is prepared to carry on her family’s legacy and reopen the doors Nov. 11, the anniversary date of the restaurant’s opening.
Anyone who worked with Dot was as much her family as her own, in the way she cared for them. I can personally attest to that. I had the pleasure of being her dishwasher/busser during my youth. It was not a job. It was a learning experience, the kind that stays with you and helps to mold your career. Dot was old school. Kids today would not survive an hour, let alone a day in her kitchen. No sense of entitlement or attitudes were allowed. We worked. I washed dishes, bused tables, swept, etc. In fact, this was my first job in the restaurant industry, and thanks to this experience, I have been able to carry myself in my career with confidence.
The feeling of family didn’t stop with the people who worked there, but extended to all the regular guests and customers who came by to either have a meal or a drink at the bar. There was a wonderful sense of comfort and camaraderie between the mother-daughter duo and the customers. Patrons became friends. Birthdays, family events and the like, were regularly shared. If a tragedy befell one of them, it was felt be everyone, and a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen, was always present.
“It’s difficult to alter anything with our menu because people do come back for those classic staples, the things we are well known for,” Angel said.
She said not too much has changed at Merrill’s over the years. Italian cuisine in America is an ever-evolving experience, but do not expect that at this fixture in the Bellcoville section of Weymouth Township. Merrill’s is the go-to for old-school service and true, homestyle, never flashy Italian. Don’t expect anything fancy – just the same sauce, meatballs, pastas, and family atmosphere that have been keeping Merrill’s neighbors coming back for decades. Look out for owner/bartender, Angel’s quick wit and sense of humor. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Plus, you never have to pry hospitality out of anyone at Merrill’s. No matter who you are, you are family there.
