Then & Now: Struck Cafe, 415 Chandler St., Worcester

Struck Cafe's free-spirited beginnings extended to its original name. It was initially called Struck of Loke, a play on the phrase "stroke of luck."

The restaurant, first located at 415 Chandler St., dated to the early 1970s. Michael Cusson of Princeton, one of five original partners, credited the original name to a simple but creative slip of the tongue.

But it made sense, with the anything-but-normal restaurant a mix of art, music and food. The menu was loaded with vegetarian dishes, unusual for the time. Dancing waitstaff, colorful wall hangings and mismatched furniture helped solidify its standing as an offbeat place to hang out.

"In a sense, it is like eating on the stage of Godspell," wrote freelance writer Harriette Chandler in a 1974 story for the Telegram. (Yes, that Harriette Chandler, later a longtime member of the state Senate.)

By the time Jeffrey and Barbara Cotter bought the business in 1979 from then-owner Ron Shwarzer, the name had been shortened to Struck Cafe. The Cotters soon moved to reinvent the restaurant, reworking the menu and adding seats. With more traditional food offerings, the Struck — as the regulars called it — became a popular lunch and dinner spot. Before long, the restaurant was granted a liquor license.

Former customers of the restaurant might remember the homemade breads at the Struck. The carrot-pineapple bread was a favorite. In fact, Gourmet magazine printed the recipe in its March 1984 edition.

The Struck maintained its popularity into the 1990s, expanding its footprint and adding parking spots.

In 1998, when Telegram & Gazette political reporter Timothy Connolly was lining up an interview with Jane Swift, then a candidate for lieutenant governor, he pitched the Struck Cafe to the North Adams lawmaker. The working lunch yielded a helping of political insights, not to mention a restaurant review.

In 2003, with the restaurant now run by Christine Cotter, daughter of Jeffrey, Struck relocated from its longtime home to the Deerfield Plaza, at 344 Chandler St.

But within five years, money troubles would force the closing of the restaurant. A bankrupcty filing followed.

Meantime, the restaurant's legacy lives on through Struck Catering, an enterprise started by Barbara Cotter during her latter years at the restaurant. Barbara sold her share in the business to her ex-husband in 2000. She now runs the catering business, based on Hamilton Street, with her son, Derek Grillo.

For more than a decade, the Struck's original spot on Chandler Street has been home to the Loving Hut restaurant. Two Cousins and Buddha Hut were other restaurants that tried the spot in the years after the Struck moved out.

Last week Then & Now: Vernon Drug, 100 Millbury St., Worcester

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then & Now: Struck Cafe, 415 Chandler St., Worcester