“She’s been the anchor of this place through all these years,” says Evan Lagace, the owner of Panos' Restaurant. The kind of anchor that never needed a name tag — everyone already knew her.

For 49 years, Lynn Will has carried plates and conversations with the same care. Now, the waitress who served up smiles and hot coffee is finally taking a seat of her own. Lynn reminisces, “I have people that I’m waiting on now who didn’t even have kids — and now their kids have kids. It’s kind of fun; you get to see everything they do. They graduate; they get married.”

At Panos', Lynn isn’t just part of the story — she’s part of the history. Evan shares, “The incredible part about this is that this has been through three generations — my grandfather and his generation, my father, and now myself.” But Lynn hasn’t done it alone. Right beside her for five decades has been Eleanor Mello — her coworker who became like a sister, and who Lynn says she couldn’t have done it without.

Lynn smiles and says, “Well, it’s sad, but it’s not like I’m never going to be around here.” Though Lynn is retiring, she’s already made one thing clear — this isn’t the end of her story with Panos'.