After nearly 50 years since its original opening, the ownership of Crossroad Pub Restaurant at 133 Market St. has changed hands.

And although change might be hard to imagine for loyal customers of one of Warren’s most tenured dining institution, its new owner is quick to reassure that the core of what has made Crossroad successful since John and Janis Loughlin opened it in 1977 will remain wholly intact.

“We have a very close relationship with John because he’s a friend on top of being one of the world’s best bosses,” said Kerri Frattaruolo, who purchased Crossroad in March with her husband Vinny following John’s retirement from the business. “When John told us he was going to sell it, we jumped at this chance, because we never wanted it to be anything but Crossroad Restaurant.”

Kerri gets choked up talking about it, because Crossroad has become such an integral part of her own life. She began working at the pub as a waitress over 20 years ago and ultimately rose to become the front of house manager. Even as her full-time career as an administrator for the Fall River school department blossomed, she maintained her gig at Crossroad on nights and weekends because her co-workers and regular patrons had become a second a family to her.

The theme of family is central to what has lasted Crossroad throughout more than four decades of operation, through Warren’s boom as a restaurant destination and, most recently, an unprecedented pandemic. John and Janis’s son, David, has been head chef for about as long as Kerri has worked there, and will remain through the change of ownership. John’s grandson, representing the third generation of Loughlins, works as a dishwasher. Certain employees have been there for 30 years. Vinny, a self-employed contractor, has been the restaurant’s de-facto property manager for the better part of a decade.

“Everyone has stories of their grandmother going there with their grandfather,” Kerri said. “It’s just a place where over my 23 years I’ve seen people get married, have children, grandchildren. It’s a family.”

Maintaining a legacy
Longtime owner John Loughlin said on Monday that he was happy the restaurant would remain in good hands, and that he was looking forward to his retirement.

“It should be a good transition. Being able to retain all the same employees and all that, it means a lot. It wasn’t easy but hard work pays off,” he said, recalling how he and his wife had lived in a unit above the restaurant for the first eight years of operations. “We didn’t really take a break for eight years either. Just nonstop work, and it was nonstop work until March 13 of this year.”

“It’s been rewarding for sure,” he continued. “It was quite an honor to serve the East Bay area and Warren for 45 years.”

Kerri takes pride in Crossroad’s unassuming charm that exudes from the three separate dining areas within the restaurant. “Each room has its own unique feeling,” she said.

In front is a cozy Victorian-era themed pub, complete with a suit of armor, a fireplace, and a huge rhinoceros head mounted near the bathrooms, with a spacious bar that was added around a decade after the restaurant initially opened.

In the middle, vast skylights paint the “Garden Room” with natural light, feeding tall green plants that provide a fresh contrast between the spaces.
In the back is the traditional, original pub room of the restaurant, which takes on a more Irish pub authenticity. It is the space that Kerri said could be prime for some updates.

“The original pub room is a hidden gem for private parties,” Kerri said. “It seats 60 people, and has a bar where you can have your own private bartender. I think we want to upgrade the decor to this century.”

In contrast to eateries on Water and Main Street, where parking consistently poses challenges to established and new spots alike, Crossroad enjoys its own parking lot and an additional large lot across the street, which Kerri purchased along with the actual restaurant. Kerri said that they will explore setting up some temporary outdoor seating in the front parking lot after Memorial Day to draw in some more people during the summer months.

But besides those modest updates — including an attempt to develop a real social media following to better market the event space and the restaurant itself — what was most important to Kerri was maintaining the legacy of John and Janis Loughlin, and ensuring longtime patrons that the Crossroad they have come to know and love will still very much remain “in the family.”

“Not a single person, besides John and Janis, has left since we purchased the restaurant,” Kerri said. “I think it’s super important for people to know that nothing is truly going to change. Crossroad is just a welcoming place where you can get an old school, home cooked American meal…I bought it to stay exactly the same it was, so future generations can create the same memories we have.”