Manes finds it hard to take time away from work while recovering

Sitting in the kitchen of his home south of Fremont, Andy Manes has a panoramic view of life on U.S. Highway 77 and the countryside around it.

He also has an eye on the current economic trends, especially those that affect independent local operators and restaurants. As owner of Andy's on First, he's both.

But for the past month, he has been confined to his home as he recovers from foot surgery and an infection that nearly cost him a portion of his right foot.

"I'm stuck here; I can't leave," Manes said.

"My crew is working hard to maintain things, and I'm not there," he added. "Thank God for our regular customers."

A month is the longest Manes has ever been away from his downtown Fremont restaurant. It could be another month before he is back at work.

"I miss my customers," he said.

Manes keeps in touch with the staff via a cell phone, but that's the only contact he has had.

"I check with them every day," he said. "So far, most of the help has been very understanding."

It's not the day-to-day operations that has him worried. Even from home, he has worked with the staff to revise the menu and wine list. But in a climate where everyone is looking for a deal, full-service restaurants can be hit hard.

"I'm scared," he said. "Business plummeted 50 percent last quarter. We haven't seen it come back."

Restaurant staff is striving to maintain or build traffic.

"This is a whole new environment for people," he said.

Manes has operated Andy's on First for the past 19 years, and he has been in the Fremont area since 1970. The First Street location has been a restaurant for decades.

"The building has always been a restaurant," he said. "Hopefully it will continue to be."

Food has been a part of Manes' life since he began working in a Chicago pizza house when he was 15 years old. He continued working in restaurants while attending Wayne State College before his began a teaching career in art.

But restaurants were in his blood, and in 1970 he moved to Fremont to open his own.

"I truly love it," Manes said. "My mission in life is to make people happy; believe it or not.

"The passion is still there as long as customers keep coming in the door. Our only success is people coming in the door."

Still, he won't be able to walk through the door of his own restaurant for a while.

Until then, he'll continue to have a home healthcare assistant come in about three times per week to dress the wound on his foot and adjust the machine that his helping to rebuild tissue lost due to the infection.

He spends his time reading books, newspapers and trade journals, listening to classical music and recovering. He doesn't watch television and won't go near a computer.

Manes hopes to be back to work in another month. He'll learn more this week.

"It's just going to take some time," he said.