Joseph Bartley, who died on March 5 in Andover at the age of 87, is being remembered for his humor and warmth, and for growing an iconic Harvard Square business — Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage — from the ground up.
He and his wife, Joan, purchased Harvard Spa, a hole-in-the-wall convenience store on Massachusetts Avenue across from Harvard University, in 1960. The shop became the springboard for the hamburger joint that would serve Harvard presidents, students, shop clerks, tourists, politicos and international celebrities for the next five decades.