When the news broke in early July that a buyer had stepped forward to rescue financially strapped Welliver’s restaurant — the family-owned smorgasbord that has been a Hagerstown landmark for six decades — the Welliver family was understandably thrilled.

Founder’s daughters Janie and Mary Welliver, who have spent their entire lives helping operate the restaurant, had announced a June 28 closing date and admitted all they could do was “pray for a miracle.”

Their miracle, and the town’s great good fortune, came in the form of businessman Tony Bucher, owner of Across the Street Antiques. Not only did Bucher agree to buy the place and work to return it to profitability, he pledged to maintain the traditions that have helped make Welliver’s a diners’ “destination spot” for decades.

And to help him keep that pledge, Bucher turned quickly to a trusted, right-hand woman: Heidi Houck, who has been working for Bucher more than three years as manager of Across the Street.

For Houck, an 18-year Hagerstown resident, accepting the job as Welliver’s general manager was simple in one sense…but scary in another. “As a manager, I’m comfortable and confident,” says Houck, 43. “I’ve done retail, and I understand what it takes to work with people. Besides, I have five children (ranging in age 16 to 6). Talk about management training!”

Despite her on-the-job experience and her familiarity with Welliver’s (her previous workplace is literally “across the street”), Houck admits that nothing can really prepare a person to take the reins of such an iconic enterprise. “Everybody knows Welliver’s,” she says. “So many of the people working there have been there such a long time, and it has such a wonderful tradition. “It’s hard not to be a little intimidated.”

What has really helped, she says — besides the confidence Bucher has shown in her — is the way the Welliver family and the other employees at the restaurant have reached out to her.

“I’ve just kind of jumped in there with the Welliver family, and they’ve been so gracious to me,” Houck says. “Janie and Mary have been wonderful. And Margaret, too, she’s the third sister; both of her daughters work at the restaurant, and Janie’s three daughters work there, too. They’ve all got great ideas, and I have a lot to learn from them about their jobs and about the restaurant business.”

That learning process will never really end, Houck says, because her management style will always be a matter of give-and-take. “I don’t really like to manage as someone who’s ‘in charge,'” she says. “I work with people, and I’m very big on communication.”

Houck says her team-oriented approach extends not only to her new co-workers at Welliver’s, but also to the team members under her own roof — especially husband Scot, 47, a physical education teacher and coach who worked last year at Riverside Junior High School in Fishers.

“This really has to be a joint enterprise,” Heidi Houck says. “If we both weren’t on board — really, if the whole family wasn’t on board — it just wouldn’t work.”

Houck knows there’s much work to be done to ensure a profitable future for Welliver’s, but she’s already seen positive changes since Bucher’s arrival. Equipment is undergoing long-needed maintenance; the restaurant’s balky air-conditioning units are being repaired; and plans are in the works to publish a new cookbook — one that not only features recipes of Welliver’s best-loved dishes, but also shares customers’ favorite memories and anecdotes.

“We also plan to step up the look a notch by getting new uniforms for the staff — not just for the servers,” Houck says, “but for the folks back in the kitchen, too. After all, without them, there really wouldn’t even be a Welliver’s.”

Several other ideas are bubbling on the back burner — some of them Bucher’s, some Houck’s, and some that come directly from longtime staff members at Welliver’s. For example:

• Expanding the restaurant’s carryout service to serve outlying areas such as Richmond and New Castle.
• Preparing boxed lunches for noontime delivery to Autocar, Precision Wire and other area workplaces.
• Establishing a “fifth quarter” tradition by opening up a section of the restaurant after local high school games to serve kid-friendly food and view the just-completed contests on DVD.

Houck says that, since Bucher arrived and helped the restaurant avert financial crisis, there’s been a rush of new ideas — and enthusiasm — to boost Welliver’s future.

“Really, there’s a new idea about every day right now,” she says. “Of course we can’t do everything, and we certainly can’t do everything right away. We understand that it’ll take some time, and we’re going to take baby steps for a while — but we’ll get there.”

“The main thing is, we really don’t need to make drastic changes. In fact, we shouldn’t,” Houck insists. “Welliver’s isn’t broken. It’s just a machine that needs a little oil.”