Friends, family, longtime customers, and county officials gathered Tuesday outside Montclair Family Restaurant and Grill, located near Dumfries, to dedicate a new entrance sign featuring the image of longtime manager Peggy Curry.
Curry, 70, died July 11 while working at the restaurant after collapsing on the job. She had worked there since 1990 — spanning three owners — and was widely regarded as the public face of the family-run eatery. She was a seven-time InsideNoVa Best of Prince William winner for best waitress.
Among those attending the short outdoor ceremony were former Prince William County Supervisor Maureen Caddigan, Prince William County Police Chief Peter Newsham, Prince William County School Board Member Justin Wilk, and representatives from Prince William County Fire.
Owner Francesco Leone, who purchased the restaurant in 2013, called Curry more than an employee.
“She became like a mother to me,” Leone said. “She helped me the most. When I took over, a lot of people were asking where the previous owner was. Peggy was the one telling everyone, ‘We love Francesco, he’s fixing everything.’ She made me fall in love with this place.”
Leone described Curry’s quiet generosity. He said she frequently paid out of her own pocket for meals and drinks for customers in need, often without telling him.
“I never met anybody like her,” he said. “Homeless people would come in, and she would give them something to drink, something to eat. Most of the time she was going to the register to pay for it without me knowing.”
Leone was visiting his ailing mother in Italy when Curry died. He later reviewed security footage from that afternoon and described a normal day that ended abruptly when she collapsed after speaking with a coworker.
The idea of putting Curry on the restaurant’s sign began as a joke years earlier. Leone had wanted to replace the old rotisserie-chicken logo and teased her about becoming the new face of the business. She refused, saying she did not want the attention.
After her death, longtime customers Lucille Fry and Rene Fry stepped forward and paid for the new sign. Rene Fry is a former longtime member of the Prince William County Planning Commission. Local artist Lindsay Sauer designed the image of Curry smiling and holding a breakfast plate. Signographics of Manassas fabricated and installed it.
“When I saw that one, I knew,” Leone said of the final design. “Her smile, her eyes — that was the one.”
Leone said the sign has helped him cope. He still has four children to put through college and could not walk away from the restaurant.
“Every morning I park my car and see her looking after us,” he said. “I miss her a lot. She made me understand different values in life. Just be nice to people. Do good, and good will come to you.”
Montclair Family Restaurant and Grill sits at 17001 Dumfries Road.
