Who's Behind the Counter: Tom Gubricky at Martha and Mary's

When Martha and Mary's opened up shop about two-and-a-half years ago, Tom Gubricky found himeslf managing the restaurant just a few months later.

Having worked as a chef for over three decades at places like the Sheraton Hotel in Towson and the Brookshire Suites downtown, he's enjoying his role in a more tranquil atmosphere on Main Street.

Gubricky sat down with Patch to chat about his experiences, his favorite food on the menu and more. 

Patch: What do you like about working here in particular?

Gubricky: Everything. The owners are nice. They are great to work for. And the customers. It’s busy, the customers are happy and you can’t have it much better than that.

What do you like about working in Reisterstown and being a part of this community?

The same. Everybody is happy; it’s just a nice place. People come here to relax and have a good time. And they do.

What makes a restaurant like this stand out?

It’s laid back. You can come in here and get good food at a fair price and we emphasize customer service. The girls and guys that work here, they buy into it and they try to make everybody comfortable when they come in.

What specifically are you trying to get out of your employees as far as their courteousness to customers?

The biggest thing is how would they want to be treated if they walked into a place? I tell them, hey, you see somebody looking around, you know it’s their first time in here because they are not sure what to do. So go out there, and you can make them feel comfortable and they’re going to have a great experience. That’s really what it is.

What’s your favorite thing to eat off the menu?

The buffalo chicken pizza. It’s awesome. We have great reubens because it’s made correctly. A really good reuben is hard to find. The cheese steaks. The cheese steaks are great because you tell us how to make them.

I see you couldn’t just pick one.

Nope. You can’t just pick just one.

What advice would you give to someone looking to manage a restaurant?

I hope you like to work because it’s a lot of hours and it just never stops. The food service industry is not a 40-hour-a-week job. If it’s open, you’re responsible. The more responsibility you take for something—it gives you a different perspective. You don’t have to be here to be responsible. If you can train your staff to operate the same when you’re gone as when you’re here then you’ve succeeded.

After a long day of work, when you get home, aside from sitting down, what’s the first thing you do to relax?

I take my dog for a walk. He won’t let me relax. But, that’s always calming, too, because you’re out there, it’s dark out, you’re basically by yourself, just you and the dog. You guys are watching out for each other. So you take a couple miles and go and relax. Shake off whatever happened that day.