This is the first in an occasional series on family-owned restaurants in the area.

Stonington — Customers want personal attention, says Lynn Tsagarakis, who should know after a lifetime in the restaurant business.

"When a customer walks through that door, I want them to feel like they are the only person there," says Lynn, about greeting customers at her restaurant, Zack's, located under the viaduct that leads into Stonington Borough.

Her husband, Tom "Zack" Tsagarakis, is a co-owner, but he's busy six days a week running the couple's sister restaurant, the Seahorse, at Spicer's Marina in Noank, at least until the end of the year.

After nine years at the Seahorse, Tsagarakis is giving up his lease on the property at the end of December.

Just like Lynn, Zack feels a connection to his customers and agrees the success of their businesses — they previously owned and ran the former Fisherman on Groton Long Point Road for a dozen years — has always been their undivided attention to patrons.

"It doesn't cost you anything to have good service," says Lynn.

While the couple will be letting go of the Seahorse, Tom says he will be "working for Lynn," not retiring.

"There's no such thing as retirement in this business," he says. "There's always a need for someone to cook, or wash dishes, and I'll fill in for Lynn one or two nights a week."

Part of the reason the couple is giving up the Seahorse is the difficulty in finding help, especially for positions like dishwasher, prep cook, bussers and cleaners.

Too often, the owners find themselves washing dishes, cleaning toilets, or bussing tables. Customers are more demanding, too, citing food allergies, dietary restrictions, or modifications to whatever is listed on the menu. The couple is OK if someone has constructive criticism but says in today's digital world, a patron will smile and say everything is fine, then go home and make a damning, public complaint on a website.

"We can fix it when you're here, please just tell us," says Lynn.

And then there are all those new restaurants, so many now, that after the busy summer season, there are not enough customers to fill them all in the doldrums of winter.

But Zack's and Seahorse have defied those hurdles, attracting loyal, year-round customers. And while they can't fill every position to their satisfaction, the owners have many longtime, capable employees, like bartenders Kit Dick and Donnie Marchand, who has been with them for decades.

Zack's is the eatery where they will focus all of their attention now, and it is a local favorite in Stonington, what many call "Stonington's 'Cheers.'" Single women are comfortable alone at the bar for dinner, and anyone who lives in town is likely to see someone they know when they stop in, perhaps a coach, clergyman, or the local librarian. 

The food, Lynn says, is a bit of everything, from duck to hamburgers, prime rib to salads, seafood to salads, as well as a full bar.

The couple met more than 40 years ago, when they both worked at Steak Loft, where Tom was a bartender, and Lynn, a cocktail waitress. Tom has always worked in the industry; Lynn worked for a time in business sales for an airline.

Looking back, both say that nearly everything they learned about the business, and pretty much everything they practice today, came from Jon Kodama, whose JTK Management still owns and operates a stable of local restaurants, including Steak Loft, Go Fish, Breakwater and Dock & Dine.

Lynn grew up in New London, later Waterford, and her parents, Sal and Ann Carfi, had a concession at Ocean Beach Park, where as a girl, Lynn helped to make candied apples and cotton candy. Her first "paying" job was selling hot dogs on the 10th hole at the former New London Country Club.

Zack was raised in Providence and tended bar while in college at Bowdoin in Maine, leading to summer jobs working for Kodama here, and in Newport and Block Island. The couple married in 1980 and bought their first restaurant a decade later, the Fisherman.

It was the go-to place for celebratory dinners for residents of Groton Long Point, Noank, and Mumford Cove, and it was big — 220 seats — and busy. They sold the place in December 2002, and for 18 months enjoyed time with their son, JC, who was born in 1988, and leisure activities like running, golfing and reading. It was then that Zack started coaching lacrosse at Stonington High School, which he did for about a decade.

In 2004, they acquired the business now called Zack's. Under a former owner and different name, it is where some scenes from the movie "Mystic Pizza" were filmed, and a poster from the movie's premiere still hangs on the wall. This was a smaller, more manageable restaurant with just 63 seats including the bar, and Zack initially believed it was too small. Today, he acknowledges that Lynn was right about the size.

And then in 2011, the couple expanded again, this time adding the Seahorse to their portfolio. For nine years, they have balanced the two. Both restaurants are closed on Mondays, but that's just to customers. There's always repairs and cleaning to be done, orders to be placed, salesmen to see, bills to pay, and books to balance.

"In this business, there are no sick days, no vacations," says Zack. He tried to convince Lynn to retire, but she says she's not ready, so he will support her after he closes the Seahorse.

"I don't want to be waiting on someone with my walker with plastic flowers on it," says Lynn, "but I'm just not ready to give it up. I'm still enjoying it."

"And I'll stay until she tells me I can go," says Zack.

RECIPES 

Zack's Clams Casino

12 little neck clams, shucked

3-4 slices of cooked bacon, cut into 1-inch strips

18-25 crushed Ritz crackers

4-5 slices Swiss cheese cut into postage stamp-size pieces

Casino Butter

Half-pound butter, softened (not melted)

1 ounce green pepper, finely diced

1 ounce red pepper, finely diced

1 shallot, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely diced

1 ounce white wine

1 splash Worcestershire

3 shakes Tabasco

1 ounce lemon juice

Pinch of dried oregano

Pinch of dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the Casino Butter ingredients to make the butter. Layer the shucked clam with a layer of the butter, a couple pieces of the bacon, some of the Swiss cheese, and some cracker crumbs.

Place the clams on a baking sheet and for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Cooking times may vary depending on size of clams

Zack's Lobster Mac & Cheese

½ pound cooked Cavatappi pasta (or a pasta of your choice)

1½ cups heavy cream

12 ounces lobster meat

2-3 slices Swiss cheese

2-3 slices American cheese

1/3 cup shredded Cheddar/Jack cheese

4 ounces crushed Ritz crackers

Salt and pepper to taste

In medium sauce pan, warm cream on medium heat, stir and/or whisk in cheese. Stir until melted smooth, with no lumps. Add cooked pasta and lobster meat and pour into oven-proof greased casserole dish. Top with crushed crackers. Bake at 400 degrees until crumbs are brown.