JOHN ROLFE: ShopTalk

Vivian's: Just grillin'

Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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	Staff photo by John Ewing Donna Morgan is the owner and cook at Vivian's Drive-In on Forest Avenue in Portland. Vivian's has had loyal customers since it opened in 1952. Morgan bought it eight years ago from Joyce Perry, who had owned it since 1964. Perry still visits.
	Donna M. Morgan Position: Owner/operator Business: Vivian's Drive-In Address: 948 Forest Ave. Phone: 797-7077 Age: 44 Previous job: Bookkeeping, homemaker Dream job: I'm comfortable with this. To top of story

Q: You've been here for . . .?

A: I bought the business eight years ago. I had gone to Andover College and was getting ready to graduate when Vivian's came up on the market and I saw it advertised. It was a perfect fit, with the hours - I had a small child I was able to be with before and after school - and a well-established business.

Q: Did you buy it from Vivian?

A: Vivian was the name of the original owner, back in the early '50s. I actually bought it from Joyce Perry, who had owned it for the previous 30 or so years, since 1964. She still comes in once a week. She bought it from the original Vivian.

Q: Was it expensive?

A: Expensive? Yes! Of course! I bought the business and the two buildings here.

Q: Have you thought of changing the name?

A: No, it's carried itself through all these years, and built a reputation for itself.

When I bought it, people who had been coming in for 40 years would tell me they wanted their "regular" - and I would have no idea what that was. They'd get very upset.

I'd promise to remember the next time, or it would be on me. Now I know what people want when they walk in.

Q: What year did Vivian's open?

A: I believe 1952. So we hit our 50th anniversary last year.

Q: Was it a place with waitresses on roller skates?

A: We get asked that question a lot, but no. Back in the '50s 'drive-in' was just a name for places you would drive in to and go out and get your food.

Q: So you were never a sit-down restaurant? No tables, no stools?

A: No. People stand around at the counter. We do try to move people along at lunchtime. We can get 20 or 30 people in at a time, standing room only.

Q: And you're the cook?

A: I've always loved cooking. I should have my own cooking show.

But here, we serve fast food, and we're known for our hamburgers. Hamburgers and hot dogs - we keep it very simple. It's worked for 50 years.

We make burgers fresh every day, and they're 95 percent lean sirloin. We still use the old-fashioned hand press.

Q: How fast is fast?

A: A hamburger takes about three minutes.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: $1.35

Q: How long have they been at that price?

A: Probably for five years.

Q: Will the price go up?

A: I don't foresee that. I make a very comfortable living doing what I'm doing.

Q: What's hard about the job?

A: It's a long day, long hours. There is just a lot more to it than people see on the outside. Doing the advertising, accounting, paperwork.

I really don't take much time off. That's one of the cons of owning a small business, working with just two or three other people - there's no room for sick days or playing hooky.

Q: Has the building changed?

A: From my understanding, the only thing that has been changed in 50 years has been the telephone, from rotary to touchtone. A lot of people suggested when I took over that we remodel, but I liked the atmosphere as it is.

Q: How about a jukebox?

A: My daughter suggested one, but not in the near future, no.

Q: Are any days busier than others?

A: I wish I could predict that, but I really can't. It stays very steady here. As an established business, we don't seem susceptible to downturns in the economy.

Q: Who are your customers?

A: Local people, merchants. We get a lot of kids from the local schools, Deering and Cheverus. We see third- and fourth-generation customers and now it's a whole new generation, which is wonderful.

We get all different types of people in here, from truck drivers to lawyers, to judges to dentists, nuns from the mother house at Catherine McAuley.

We also get a number of high school kids in, who will challenge each other on the number of burgers they can eat. That happens about once a week.

Q: What's the record now?

A: Five or six double cheeseburgers, and probably five or eight hot dogs to go with it. That was about two months ago.

Q: Phew! A student from Cheverus or Deering?

A: Deering.

Q: How long did that take him to eat?

A: About 10 minutes. Basically, they eat as quickly as I can cook the next burger and get it to them.

Q: Do they ever get sick?

A: Not in my presence! But I imagine they're not feeling very well later.

Q: Anything odd ever happen there? Ever been robbed?

A: Never been robbed, no. Businesses have been, all along Forest Avenue, but for some reason we've been missed.

Q: Any celebs ever come in?

A: Bob Elliot was a regular . . . Bob Marley, the comedian.

Q: What did he buy?

A: A double cheeseburger.

Q: Did he joke about the food?

A: Of course! But I couldn't quote him.

Q: Are you thinking about expansion?

A: No. No.

Q: How long will you keep doing this?

A: I couldn't say, today. I'm happy here now. What the next year or five years from now will bring, I have no idea. But now, I enjoy it.

ABOUT SHOPTALK

Shoptalk allows people to describe in their own words the rewards and challenges of their jobs. In doing so, they reflect the energy, imagination and hard work that characterize the workplace in Maine.

The questions for Shoptalk are compiled by staff writer John Rolfe. Do you know of someone who would make an interesting candidate for Shoptalk?

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