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The Story of Shorty's

Hector Garza was born in San Antonio, Texas, where his family settled when his father fled Mexico after a failed run for the presidency of the country. Hector went to college in New England in the late 1940’s and settled in southern New Hampshire to make his fortune. He was very successful in marketing a machine he invented for farmers called the Egg-O-Matic, but his real dream was to someday own a restaurant.

In 1950, Hector married Madeline O’Riordan, a local beauty... and soon there were three children, the youngest, a son nicknamed Shorty. Shorty’s father, Hector, a motorcycle enthusiast, went on a road trip to California in 1957 and was never heard from again. Shorty vowed to his mother, Madeline, that someday he would find his father and bring him back to New England.

Eventually, Shorty realized his father’s dream of having his own restaurant by opening the “Original” Shorty’s in Litchfield, New Hampshire in 1989. He subsequently opened Shorty’s in Bedford, Manchester, and Nashua, New Hampshire. Shorty feels he is the luckiest guy in the world to have loving family and friends help him run the business. His many Irish and Mexican aunts and uncles have been very generous in sharing recipes and lending Shorty great old toys and artifacts they have gathered over the years.

Nonetheless, Shorty is still driven to find his father. He travels to warmer climates around the world (his father hated snow!) searching for Hector. Sometimes he finds evidence that his father was there, like the day in 1991 when he found a 1947 Indian motorcycle rumored to have been Hector’s. During his travels, Shorty always searches for great food ideas, interesting flavors and innovative recipes to bring back to the restaurant he loves. And he’ll keep looking for his father.