Saying Goodbye

Towson, Md.—Eileen Kaminski, 65, has been working at Obrycki’s Crab House, a well-known establishment since 1944, for 39 years.

“I use to live next door to the Obrycki’s,” Kaminski said.

After serving customers for 67 years, the current owners of the restaurant have decided to shut down business at the main location on Pratt Street.

The original owners of the restaurant were Ed and Eleanor Obrycki. While they were at work, they needed someone to babysit their dog, Bambi, and Kaminski would volunteer to babysit. One of the servers at the restaurant was unable to work due to an operation and they needed a fill-in server.

“Eleanor asked me,” she said. “I told her I was never a server and she said they would train me.”

Kaminski started working for Obrycki’s Crab House in 1972 as a server. It wasn’t until Ed Obrycki got sick and both the Obrycki’s decided to sell their business to someone who they knew and trusted.

“Rose and Richard Cernak used to come to Obrycki’s every Thursday night for dinner,” Kaminski said. “They would get a seafood platter and split it.”

They became very acquainted with the Obrycki’s. The Cernak’s would “joke around and tell them if they wanted to sell the business, they would be interested in buying it.”

So the Cernak’s bought the restaurant and took over business in 1976 and still own the business, which has been passed down to their children, Cindy, Rob and Cheri Cernak.

In 1986, the Cernak’s moved from the original building to another location.

“It’s across the street from where I started,” Kaminski said. “It was 1729 E. Pratt Street and now, it’s 1727 E. Pratt Street.”

The new Obrycki’s location was a Goodwill building and it seated 240 people, unlike the old building which only seated 150 people. There were a lot of changes between the old and new building.

The new building has computers, central air, a large kitchen, steam room and an electric dishwasher all on one floor. The original building didn’t have computers, central air or heat, an electric dishwasher and servers had to walk up and down steps for drinks.

“We had to write all orders down and add them up ourselves,” Kaminski said. “When we made adding mistakes we had to pay for them.”

Kaminski was a server so many years that she was supervising other servers, while still serving. The Cernak’s decided to give her a position as a floor supervisor, but she turned down the offer. She felt funny about telling other servers what to do and how to do things correctly, and still having to work with them. So after 32 years of serving, she took the offer of becoming part of the management team, since she was already making schedules and seating charts.

“I’m disappointed,” she said. “I’ve been with them for over half of my life. I’m going to miss everyone, especially Rykeita,” who is the hostess.

Even though everyone may argue with each other and complain, they all care about each other in the end, Kaminski said.

“Sometimes we seem like one big family,” she said. “Not always happy with each other, but nevertheless, a family.”

Even though she may have heard things of the owners closing down the location, it went over her head. They didn’t mention the official closing to her until one Thursday before the weekend that they had decided to make a “general announcement in the papers and on TV.” Kaminski is still in stock.

“Ms. Eileen has been a surrogate mother to me for the past five years,” Jacqueline Kunksy said, the bartender at Obrycki’s. “She can be tough at times, but kind as well.”

She doesn’t have any plans after Obrycki’s closing, but she refuses to just sit in the house and do nothing. She knows that she wants to do something, but not sure of what.

“As with everything in my life, I wait until the last minute for decisions,” Kaminski said. “I don’t feel I’m ready to be put out to pasture.”

Kaminski described her experience as being a great one. Working at Obrycki’s has allowed her to meet many people from the regulars, who have been coming since the original location, to celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Adam Richman, and George Benson. She also made a lot of friends, so saying goodbye will be hard as the time nears.

“If I had the chance to do the past 39 years, as far as my job goes, all over again and knowing how it was going to be, I would do it again,” Kaminski said.