Despite celebrity endorsements from Child and others, the Thompsons' ownership ended in the mid-1980s, and the restaurant slid into decline, according to Himmel. When he took over the restaurant in 1998, Himmel said he was bent on returning Harvest to its founding principles and restoring its chef-focused cuisine.

“If you look at where we are today, it’s a renaissance of what went on in the 1970s up to the mid ’80s,” Himmel said. “We really made a decision when we had [Chef Dumont] join in 2007 to really focus on bringing the Harvest back to what it was and take it to another level.”

FROM FARM TO CAMBRIDGE’S TABLES

As Harvest transitioned back to its roots, its excellence in food innovation began to draw the attention of others in the increasingly dynamic, tight-knit Cambridge restaurant community, for which fresh, local ingredients have become the norm.

Chef Jody Adams, a James Beard Award-winning chef and creator of Rialto, located in the Charles Complex, is connected to Harvest by both business and blood. Not only did her husband work at Harvest as a server in his 20s, but she also credits the restaurant with helping to start a national movement that has paved the way for her own restaurant, offering Italian cuisine made with local ingredients.

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“There is a restaurant that predates Rialto in terms of farm-to-table and that’s the Harvest,” Adams said. “It’s exciting now to see just how vibrant and relevant the whole notion of working with farms is.”

Alden & Harlow, winner of Boston Magazine’s best new restaurant of 2014 award, is close in proximity to Harvest, and there is also strong camaraderie between the two restaurants, according to Chef Michael Scelfo.

“They are without a doubt our closest friends,” Scelfo said. “I think when any restaurant has been open that long you have to take a step back...in this little pocket [of Harvard Square] there’s some legendary places in the Boston restaurant scene.”

Scelfo noted the prominence of the local food movement in the restaurant industry, though he said the expression farm-to-table has gone from its radical origins to being overused.

“I try and stay away from that expression these days,” Scelfo said. “I think that the term has become more of [public relations] hook. We are by definition farm-to-table...we just consider it smart sourcing, the way we order food.”

Chef Peter Davis of Henrietta’s Table said his restaurant and Harvest are also friendly, and credited Harvest with evolving throughout its multiple ownership changes.

“I’m happy for the Harvest and their anniversary, we’ve always been friends,” Davis said. “We’re all creating a better food system.”

With an uptick in restaurant quality, Executive Director of the Harvard Square Business Association Denise A. Jillson says Harvard Square has become a dining destination in recent years. She said that Google analytic reports show that when most people search for Harvard Square, they are typically looking for restaurants. In this competitive environment, farm-to-table eateries have prospered.  

“These restaurants all want the freshest possible food to serve to the dining public. It’s a very competitive industry and you survive for 20 or 40 years the way Harvest has—not only survived but thrived—by having the freshest food,” Jillson said.