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Spring 2004

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Extended Family

Profile: Daisy's: A Budding Success
Amherst hotspot blossoms under new ownership

—Jennifer Eastwood ’04




	Sara Peterson ’03, along with two co-owners, cultivates the perennial North Amherst favorite, Daisy’s Restaurant.(photo by Kathryn LoConte ’04)

A SYMPHONY OF CONVERSATION MIXES with the smell of bacon in the crowded dining room. With a kind smile, the hazel-eyed cashier bids farewell to a customer, delivers scrambled eggs, then greets college students at the restaurant’s front door. Taking a moment to adjust her drooping ponytail before delivering drinks, she catches the eye of a waitress who asks how she’s doing. “I haven’t even had a coffee or a sip of water today,” she says. It’s 1:30 p.m. They share sympathetic smiles and cross in opposite directions.

No one ever told Sara Peterson ’03, a recent Isenberg School of Management grad, that running her own business was going to be easy. “A lot of people wait for things to come to them,” says this young entrepreneur, “but I try to make it happen.” Peterson, in partnership with fellow 20-somethings Erin Reffsin and Megan Boreman, is blossoming as co-owner of Daisy’s Restaurant, a long-standing North Amherst hotspot. Their story is a classic triumph of friendship. Still in school, Peterson met Reffsin while waitressing at a nearby diner. Reffsin introduced Boreman and Peterson, and a friendship on par with the three musketeers took hold. Long distance business talk littered Peterson’s senior year; Reffsin and Boreman had ventured west and were eyeing a pub for purchase in Arizona. Ultimately though, in the sage words of Dorothy, there was no place like home. By the end of the summer, the three settled in Amherst where connections were strongest and Daisy’s Restaurant was for sale. To get this busy eatery up and running last fall, Peterson, a Weston, Mass., native, and her comrades faced all sorts of hurdles: Think zoning regulations, budget concerns, supply shortages, and even interior decorating. They finally opened the doors on Sept. 8, 2003.

Among the three, Peterson’s the money gal, keeping the books in order. Everyone pitches in all areas, though, so it’s common to find Peterson hosting and waitressing, Reffsin cooking, and Boreman managing the dish ware. Even family members help out: Peterson’s sister, Carrie ‘06, and Reffsin’s father and sister regularly lend a hand.

This past winter the women acquired a much-coveted live entertainment permit and liquor license for the venue with hopes of attracting a dinner crowd. For now, their fame centers on breakfast. The Big Bad Wolf is one reason why. The popular brunch dish features scrambled eggs topped with cheese, home fries, sizzled bacon, sausage and ham folded into a soft tortilla shell and drizzled with hot sauce. These gals aspire to more than grease, though. Per their personal tastes they have designed a menu catering to vegan diners.

Peterson says she never drank coffee before opening Daisy’s. Now it’s par for the course for workdays that start at 7 a.m. It’s hectic, but this budding entrepreneur has never been one to shy away from a challenge. “Sometimes you have to feel things out and learn along the way,” she says. “But we don’t work for ourselves; we work for the end result to make other people happy.”

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