Elijah Estes remembers growing up in Lynn and hearing that Marblehead could be a tough place for someone like him. But the 21-year-old wasn’t deterred. After returning from his stint with the National Guard in Maryland, Elijah was offered an opportunity in a local Marblehead restaurant. He began carving his own path, carefully laying the groundwork for his future in the town he would call his home.
Elijah’s entrée into the restaurant world was in the kitchen of Marblehead’s Howling Wolf. Within weeks, he was taking on more responsibility.
“I literally did every job there. I worked my way up from cook to a manager of two locations,” he recalled of his rapid ascent.
While navigating the ins and outs of the restaurant business, Elijah learned how to bartend, “by being thrown into the line of fire,” he said, adding, “I enjoy the chaos.”
The experience led to a seasonal bartending job at the Corinthian Yacht Club, where local customers became his regulars. “I knew what a lot of customers would want me to make for them as soon as they came in,” he recalled. “And I learned how to be fast and efficient.”
Before his second season at the Corinthian came to a close, one of his regulars told him of a new restaurant opening in Old Town. Elijah remembers the November day he walked into Sea Salt to find owners Scott Brankman and Emily Farnsworth-Brankman working fastidiously on final preparations for the restaurant’s opening. Elijah talked about his experience, filled out an application, and thanked them for their time before heading out the door. He hadn’t noticed Emily running out to the parking lot before he drove away.
“She wanted to offer me the job,” he exclaimed.
“She said they didn’t want to let me go!”
Elijah, currently the bar manager, was Sea Salt’s first employee when they opened their doors in 2019, two months before COVID-19 hit.
“Emily and Scott kept me through COVID. They had me helping with take-out orders, they gave me deliveries and did anything they could to keep me above water,” he said.
In the years since his hiring, Emily, Scott, and General Manager Dave Adkins have become more to Elijah than simply his employers.
“I don’t have much family here. Emily, Scott and Dave are my family,” he said. “Dave helped me get my apartment and made phone calls to make sure the landlord knew I was a good person. I wouldn’t be in this position without all of them.”
Elijah has tremendous gratitude for his local family and the many friendships he’s cultivated during the past eight years in Marblehead.
“Growing up in Lynn, there was always a misconception about Marblehead. But it wasn’t true. I don’t ever feel as though I don’t belong here. I feel privileged to be able to live here,” he said.
He smiled, adding, “I plan on staying here for a while.”
Leslie Martini is a freelance writer and children’s book author. Though she and her family have lived in Marblehead for more than 26 years, Leslie is still discovering countless untold stories. If you’d like to share your story, please contact leslie@marbleheadweeklynews.com.