Sense of tradition, feeling of community draws families and employees to Baugher’s Restaurant

“When the farm incorporated in the ’60s, the restaurant remained a separate business; but even today, we are very interdependent,” said Kay Ripley, daughter of Allan and Marjorie Baugher, who helps run the restaurant and does bookkeeping on the farm.

The arrangement has worked well through the years, as restaurant patrons are encouraged to visit the farm, and visitors to the farm’s “Pick Your Own” season are directed to the restaurant.

“Pickers from as far away as Alexandria, D.C. and Baltimore try out our restaurant after their time at the farm,” Ripley said.

While tourists add variety, Westminster area residents and college students are the restaurant’s real bread and butter, building and sustaining the business through the years, despite encroaching chain eateries, said Ripley.

Ripley credits the restaurant’s success to its homemade offerings.

“People love the comfort food. We serve the type of food your mother made you,” said manager Steve Nace, a restaurant employee for 21 years.

At a restaurant with many longtime customers and where the most popular item is the roast beef sandwich, the recent low-carb craze wasn’t even noticed. Instead, Baugher’s focused on bringing in more families with a specialized children’s menu and family-friendly events, said Ripley.

Beyond the great food, Nace and Ripley said the sense of tradition keep families — and employees — coming back for more.

“It’s a great place to work,” said Shirley Rinehart, the 47-year veteran who began waiting tables at Baugher’s when she turned 14. “It’s the only job I ever held. I have great, friendly co-workers, flexible hours and years of memories.”

Through the years, Baugher’s has made giving back to the community one of its top priorities. Beyond hosting pie-eating contest for the American Diabetes Association, Baugher’s regularly donates proceeds for certain items on its menu to the United Way.

cmeister@baltimoreexaminer.com