At Prince Street, a New Name but Old School Sense of Community [VIDEO]

Dana Strayton comes from a long line of restaurateurs, with her father, grandfather and great grandfather all having owned restaurants in Boston's North End dating back to 1929. 

Strayton's grandfather, John Plescia, opened the Prince Cafe on Prince Street in the North End in 1930. Strayton changed the name of her Bedford eatery from Carriage House Cafe to Prince Street Cafe to honor her grandfather's legacy in more ways than one. 

Strayton's grandfather's influence in Prince Street Cafe is evident not only in the recipes for her pastries, but also in the sense of community Strayton maintains goes along with owning a business in Bedford. 

"I come from a long line of people that saw the importance of giving back to the community," Strayton said. "We changed the name to bring in my heritage, and to honor my grandfathers legacy and sense of community."

Dana along with her husband Rob have donated food or giftcards on behalf of Prince Street Cafe to Bedford High School basketball, the Bedford Athletic Association, the BHS Senior Prom, the Bedford Food Bank and the Pan-Mass Challenge. 

"The high school and everyone at the high school have always been really good to us," Dana said. "We believe in supporting local organizations that support us."

In addition to donating time and food to different organizations around Bedford, Dana said it's important to her and Rob to use local ingredients in composing the menu at Prince Street. 

One of the newer items on the menu features goat cheese from the Bedford Blueberry Goat Farm. 

Check out the video to the right to see Dana whipping up some of Prince Street's chocolate mousse. 

Rob said it's evident there is a strong sense of community in Bedford, and that both he and Dana feel it's important as a local business to maintain strong ties to the Bedford community.

"There's such a strong sense of community in Bedford that we really try to be a part of," Rob said. "We feel strongly that supporting things like the food bank are incumbent upon us, and we're constantly investigating how we can better help anyone in the Bedford community."

In addition to bringing the name of her grandfather's North End eatery to her own Bedford restaurant, Dana said it was important to both her and Rob to also bring the strong ties to the community that Dana grew up with.

"It's a sense of community that doesn't often exist anymore," Dana said.