Counter Culture

Earl Handy behind his counter at Handy's Lunch.

Earl Handy Focuses on Customer Relationships, In Person and Online

It's 1 p.m. at Handy's Lunch and a crowd of regulars and newcomers fill the stools at the horseshoe-shaped counter, eating hamburgers and sandwiches, talking to friends, and catching up on the day's news.

Earl Handy '96, the owner and third generation in the family to run the circa 1945 Burlington diner, chats with a young couple expecting a baby. As the father of 2-year-old twins, he has useful information to share.

A few minutes later, Handy says goodbye to one of his regulars, a young man about to leave for college, giving him a hug. "Go get smart," he says, wishing him luck his first semester. Talking to people, getting to know them and forming relationships is what Earl Handy does best-and what he's passionate about.

"Our business has survived for 65 years based on customer relationships," said Handy, 35, who grew up in Burlington's South End. "It's learning your customers and knowing who they are."

Building relationships with customers moved to a new level this year, as Handy jumped into social media. He started a website with the help of two other Champlain College grads, Victor Castro '03 of Commerce Generation, and Ryan Coughlin '10. The business now has a Facebook fan page, and Handy blogs and actively uses Twitter, posting everything from lunch specials to tweets about his beloved Yankees.

Handy is energized about these new directions and the ability to reach new generations of customers on the web. "We've taken that personal service, what we do in here every day, and we've expanded the counter to everybody," he said.

While he loves his work today, Handy didn't originally want to be in the restaurant business. A Public Relations and Marketing major at Champlain, he intended to work in radio, planning to be a disc jockey.

Handy received his associate's degree in May 1996, but plans changed three months after he graduated, when his father passed away. Handy decided to run the diner for a little while, and then decided to stay. "It turned out to be the right move," he said. "I really love what I do. This is what I know."

Handy said his education has benefited him a great deal in the business world. The skills and knowledge he gained help him today with everything from bookkeeping to marketing and advertising.

Champlain helped him in other ways too: he met his wife there. Handy and Alexis Segrue '95 met in a literature class their second year of school. Today, the couple and their twins, Genevieve and Nicholas, live in Shelburne.

When Handy looks back, he finds it hard to believe he's where he is today. "If somebody asked me at 18 . . . whether 17 years from then I'd be married, with twins, running the diner, and living in Shelburne, I would have been like, ‘You're crazy, no way!' But I'm glad I am." -Sona Iyengar