When the building at 550 East Middle Turnpike was made available 10 years ago, Kenny Muraski was considering finally opening the restaurant he always wanted to.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right time for him and his wife, Shelby, as they had recently had their third child. Instead of Muraski’s restaurant, Pastrami On Wry moved in.
So when Corey Wry decided to move his restaurant down the street earlier this year, Muraski, 54, decided the time was right for him and his family. On June 26 he opened Kenny’s Restaurant.
“I always wanted to do this,” Muraski said. “It’s a lifelong dream. My father used to cook at home all the time. He taught me. He died 25 years ago. He and I were going to open a place and then he ended up getting sick.”
Muraski, who is a native of Coventry and has lived in Manchester for 30 years, put his cooking skills to use at Willie’s Steak House on Center Street, where he worked at from 1981 until 1990. He also worked as a sheriff for the state, transporting prisoners to the Manchester courthouse.
He recently ended a 23-year career at Community Solutions in Bloomfield, a halfway house where he was cooking for men recently released from prison.
Muraski wants his restaurant, which he says has a piece of his father’s spirit in it, to be a source of comfort and good food from his family for other families.
“I used to cook with him for my family all of the time,” Muraski said.
All three of his daughters and his wife take part, helping in the different ways they can. One daughter is a waitress, another does the payroll and his youngest helps wash dishes. The chef is Russ Ramsdell.
“I get to do this for myself, which is No. 1,” Muraski said. “With me owning my own place, it’s all my ideas. I’m my own boss and self-motivated.”
Kenny’s Restaurant offers breakfast and lunch until 2 p.m. For now, there is no dinner service, though it may be implemented in the future.
Important to Muraski is that his restaurant offers fresh meats that he prepares daily. After his 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. work day is over, Muraski goes home and cooks more. A popular menu item in the first month of business has been his corned beef hash. He said he goes through 40 pounds of it a week.
Kenny’s Restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
