ICYMI: McCabe pays tribute to mentor Isherwood

This story was previously posted to StratfordToday.ca.

Not everyone you meet leaves a lasting impression, but the ones that do make that mark so indelible and so lasting that you never forget.

For Coun. Larry McCabe, that mark came from Marion Isherwood, whom he recognized at the city council meeting on Monday, Sept. 23. Isherwood and Eleanor Kane started The Old Prune restaurant together and helped to build a redefined dining scene in Stratford, something that McCabe spoke about outside of the meeting. Isherwood passed away this past August.

“I started working at the Prune when I was 15 years old as a dishwasher before I moved up to the front of house where I interacted more with the owners,” he said. “I just always loved how straightforward and honest Marion was, and she was so protective of her staff. She never put up with anything that was offensive or untrue.”

McCabe, who owns Cafe Buffon and Pazzo, remembers a particular moment where Isherwood stood up for her staff with a table of less than generous tippers.

“These people came in and the bill for the table came to around $300, but they only left like 89 cents for a tip,” McCabe said, unable to hide his amusement at the memory. “Marion just came over, picked up the change and walked out of the restaurant and found those people. She asked if they had a good time and if everything was fine. She then threw the coins at them and said, ‘please don’t ever come back into my restaurant’, and that always stuck with me. There’s a difference in this industry between giving good service and being seen as somebody who is the slave of the people who are dining with them. Marion always – always – stood up for the staff and that made a huge impression on me. There was nothing wrong with the meal, and there was nothing wrong with the service, and she was very pleasant about it.”

After leaving The Old Prune and eventually starting in the business himself, McCabe said that Isherwood stopped in to see him from time to time and would never be shy about letting him know what he was doing right … or wrong.

“Over the years and having the chance to interact with her, she could be very complimentary about things that she liked, but she could also be very straightforward about the things she didn’t,” he said. “I don’t think there’s enough of that in society any more, so to hear about Marion’s passing kind of marked the end of an era for me. She was one of the people who helped transform Stratford, along with Eleanor (Kane) and Jim Morris. That generation really was the catalyst for what Stratford would become.”

It’s fair to say that Isherwood played a big hand in what McCabe would become when he opened the doors to his own establishment, and he doesn’t forget that.

“She was always there behind her staff, and you had a natural respect for her because you knew that she knew what she was talking about,” he said. “She’s one of the reasons why our vibrant restaurant community is here today.”