I happened to be very hungry on Wednesday this week as I picked up some loaner medical equipment for a family member at the Acton Nursing Service at the Senior and Social Service Center, 30 Sudbury Road. It was pure serendipity that the weekly Bistro 30 was about to open in the dining room. Tables were spread with bright, primary-color table cloths. Bistro 30 is open to people of all ages and serves meals for $6, to eat in or take to go.
John Day of Minuteman Senior Services and Paul Hirschfeld bustled in the kitchen. Customers came and went at the counter where Jay Arcand took and filled orders for both Bistro 30 and Minuteman Senior Services Meals on Wheels, which were ready at the same time. Two preset tables filled up with visitors who came for congregate meals – a more sociable locale for Meals on Wheels than home. Minuteman Senior Services suggests, but does not require, a donation of $2 for the meals. Bistro 30 diners dotted other tables around the room. One table was filled with a lively conversation group called Hot Topics, founded by Sal Lopes.
One table had my now 28-year old son’s kindergarten teacher and their classroom assistant from back then, eating together! Myrna Gutfreund said, “I have come to Bistro 30 a handful of times. Melissa and I meet here for lunch. People don’t know that they can be any age and come here.” Melissa Hatanaka added, “It’s always cheerful in here: the table cloths, lots of parking, it’s accessible, there are no stairs.”
Marge Alessio stopped to say hello to a friend. “Mostly I do take-out. I have to get my grandson off the bus. I’m bringing him lunch.” She had ordered the calzone. “I have five grandchildren here in Acton. This is my ninth – and last – grandchild.”
Paula Walsh said she comes to Bistro 30 about once a month. “I’ve done lunch meetings here. It supports the senior center, the food is good, and there is a lot of good social interaction,” she said.
To find out about upcoming events at the Senior Center, go to the Acton Council on Aging’s website.
Franny Osman is editor and occasional writer for the Acton Exchange.