Bertucci's Stool Honoring Taunton Rampage Hero Finds New Home
TAUNTON (CBS) - Northboro-based Italian dining chain Bertucci's is closing locations after filing for bankruptcy. The business is closing 15 restaurants including the locations in Kenmore Square and in Taunton. That Taunton location is where George Heath was killed in 2016 protecting a pregnant waitress during a stabbing.
Heath and his wife Rosemary loved Bertucci's so much, the chain dedicated a barstool as a memorial to him. While the business is closed, the stool now has a new home.
"That's what makes those so special because it's the honor to the people that stood up," Rosemary said.
Two stools sit in Rosemary Heath's kitchen, a bittersweet reminder of her late husband, the horrible way she lost him, and his brave legacy.
Almost two years ago, George was stabbed to death during a rampage at the Bertucci's at the Silver City Galleria. He died saving the life of a pregnant waitress who was being attacked.
"It feels like it just happened yesterday because I can still see it so vividly in my head," Rosemary said.
After George's death, Bertucci's put a plaque on the stool he was sitting on that night in his memory. Now that the place is closing, Bertucci's has given that stool to Rosemary along with the one she was sitting on.
"This was where my husband was injured, mortally injured in this restaurant," Rosemary said. "And this poor waitress was hurt so badly they didn't know if she would make it. That emotion came over me and I had to pull it together."
She sees these stools as a memorial to George and all of that day's heroes.
"I can have my coffee, you know sitting right in this chair and I can sit at my table when the children come over and look and see that it's right there," Rosemary said. "That to me is wonderful."
Since his death, George Heath has received many honors. However, you get the feeling these two barstools rank right up there with any of them.