SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Riverside Restaurant, located at 244 River Street, has been a staple in the Springfield community since it first opened many years ago. Once known as Jonathan’s, then briefly as Cooper’s, the diner at the edge of the Black River was fittingly rechristened Riverside Restaurant when waitress turned restaurant owner Crystal Lariviere took the helm in March 2011.
The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days per week, offering a casual, family-style menu with comforting, classic meals like homemade chili, meatloaf, chicken cordon bleu, and prime rib with mashed potatoes. Breakfast is popular, with Lariviere’s apple-stuffed French toast, or cinnamon and walnut pancakes, and the Sunday morning breakfast buffet is a definite hit with residents.
Lariviere serves a lot of fresh haddock at her all-you-can-eat Friday-night fish fry, with seafood shipped directly from Ipswich, Mass. Throughout the week, Lariviere dishes out hand-breaded fried clams, shrimp, and scallops, along with specialties like lobster alfredo and shrimp scampi.
Riverside Restaurant has cultivated a loyal clientele over the years and has become a go-to for large group gatherings like reunions for Springfield alumni classes, or lunch meetings for retired teachers, state troopers, and former J&L employees. The restaurant offers senior portions, a detail appreciated by some of Springfield’s older residents with smaller appetites.
When crews from Green Mountain Power have to show up in the early morning hours to address a power outage, Lariviere will be there to open up before her normal business hours and get to work making them breakfast. The trucks line the parking lot, and around 70 workers pack the restaurant while Lariviere “covers the grill with eggs.”
Every Thursday, eight longtime buddies come in to sit at the counter and shoot the breeze over coffee and breakfast, while the “Wicked Wednesday Ladies,” a group of three lifelong friends and Springfield residents, stop in to celebrate special occasions and bring their own themed decorations to dress up the table.
Lariviere loves when her regulars visit, whether weekly, daily, or just occasionally. It is the reason she works so hard and yet remains so joyful. Lariviere is as much a reason for her customers’ loyalty as is the food she serves. With her warm, inviting demeanor, Lariviere created a family at Riverside Restaurant, and her team welcomes every customer as part of the family by creating a genuine, homey environment.
As Lariviere sat beside her close friend Barb Rorison, she shared how her connection to Riverside Restaurant began when she was 18 years old, and how the spirit of community support led to her taking over the business 15 years ago.
Born and raised in Springfield, Lariviere started working at the restaurant while still in high school. “I loved being a waitress,” Lariviere admitted, regretful that, as the sole cook, she doesn’t get to spend much time outside the kitchen these days.
Barb and her significant other, Peter, volunteer at the restaurant, mostly managing the decorations, which change seasonally. Lariviere went to school with Rorison’s son, and said, “Barb is like my mother. Well, I shouldn’t say ‘like’…Barb is my mother.”
Barb admits it is her pleasure to spend time at Riverside Restaurant with Lariviere and her customers. “I just love to be around the people that come in here,” she said.
“And they love seeing her,” said Lariviere.
Nine-year-old Xavier was at the restaurant on Wednesday, April 8, with his family, to celebrate his birthday. As waitress Veronica Cervantes handed Xavier his free ice cream, she relayed to Lariviere that “it was his pick to come here for his birthday.” For his special meal, Xavier went with his favorite, chicken tenders with a side of fries.
Lariviere would never rush anyone. She enjoys giving customers time and space to hang out and “chit chat about whatever, whether you’re having a good day or a bad day,” Lariviere said. “You won’t have a bad day after you leave here.”