By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

When Dorothy Hitchcock moved to Brooksby eight years ago, she was lonely; she had been living alone in her house and was unable to make the decision about whether to move.

“I said my prayers that [one] night, and I said, ‘I hope I make up my mind,’” Hitchcock recalls. “The next morning I woke up and said, ‘I’m going.’”

Unexpected relationships
What she found at Brooksby were new friends and even new family.

About two and a half years ago, Hitchcock befriended Paul Weinburg, who at that time was the new manager of the community’s Windsor Restaurant and Greentree Café. It wasn’t long before they began talking and sharing stories.

Hitchcock recalls, “He said to me one day, ‘You know what, Dorothy, I lost my mom and I would like to adopt you as my mother.’ I said, ‘That’s funny because I lost my son.’”

She adds, “It made me feel so good that he chose me of all the women here.” Weinburg says, “Some part of her attitude and her mannerisms remind me of my mother,” who, he adds, “always had a smile on her face.”

Each night when Hitchcock comes to dinner at the Windsor Restaurant,  Weinburg is there to greet her with a hug and kiss.

Delightful dining
Though the menu changes daily, some of the favorites at the Windsor  Restaurant include baked haddock, broiled scallops, petit filet mignon, crab cakes, and freshly made spaghetti, all created by chefs with culinary degrees. New specialty salads and a salad bar have also become a hit with the  community.

“We’re going out and seeing what people want,” Weinburg says. “[Director of Dining Services] Paul Coco has a team here that is incredible.”

Waitstaff at the Windsor and Brooksby’s other restaurants are an important part of the team. Many servers are high school students—and several have been “adopted” as grandchildren by the people who live at Brooksby, according to Weinburg.