Enjoying one last helping of nostalgia
Chef-o-nette is closing for months
The Tuesday Club had an impromptu meeting Wednesday morning at Chefo-nette.
George Bauman sat in his usual seat, at the far edge of the second counter from the door. Someone already had claimed Gary Gilfilen's place three seats down. It's the rock-and-roll seat, he said. It rocks front to back and side to side but doesn't really roll.
The club, whose members have gathered every Tuesday at 11 a.m. for more than a decade at Chef-o-nette, has some big decisions to make. Owner Harlan Howard sold the 69-year-old Upper Arlington diner this week, and the incoming owners closed it Thursday for three or four months of renovations.
Like a lot of regulars — some of whom haven't visited so regularly since their high school days — they've been coming back this week as word has spread for one last order of fries, one last bowl of chili, one last fried bologna sandwich or one last chocolate shake. People were waiting outside to get in by 11 a.m. Wednesday.
“This is a major part of the culture in Upper Arlington,” said Bauman, 78, a retired bookstore owner who discovered the Tremont Center diner when he first moved to the suburb in 1991. He had his usual breakfast this morning: two eggs over easy, home fries and coffee.
If you want your fries extra-crispy, he said, ask for them “George's way.” Howard promised to add that name to the menu when he printed up a new batch. “I guess that won't happen now,” Bauman said.
Howard, who bought Chef-o-nette from his father, Maborn Howard, in 1993, said he's retiring. He didn't have time to say much else as he darted from the kitchen to a counter, back to the
kitchen and out to the cash register. Bauman and Gilfilen, 75, a retired carpenter, marveled at how he still darts around the diner so quickly.
After this week's first meeting of the Tuesday club on Tuesday, Gilfilen said he ordered extra chili to take home for dinner. He calls himself a newbie at Chef-o-nette because he's only been eating there for about 15 or 20 years. He and others who'd drive the Upper Arlington High School football team and band would always gather back at the diner, he said.
Chef-o-nette’s lasting impact
It's a place where a lot of friendships have been formed and a lot of local celebrities have been counted among regulars. In a 2007 Dispatch profile, Howard said Woody Hayes' wife, Anne, ate there often. He served Woody, too, as well as OSU coaches Earle Bruce and John Cooper, Jack Nicklaus, and Gov. James A. Rhodes.
Kevin and Angie Jones came for breakfast Wednesday morning, although Kevin opted for a double order of fries instead. He didn't know about asking for fries George's way until George Bauman told him. But he said that's just the way he likes them.
The Joneses came to take some photos
at Chef-o-nette, too.
“This has been within walking distance of every place I've lived,” said Kevin, who was born and raised in Upper Arlington.
He'd come every day after high school track practice for a cherry 7-Up. They recently brought their 13-year-old son, who loved the burgers and marveled at the hand dryer in the restroom. It's the kind with a cloth towel on a loop.
“The fact it hasn't changed might be concerning for some people,” Kevin Jones said. “For me, it's nostalgia.”
Abigail Stellern, associate vice president of strategy and growth for Old Bag of Nails, the incoming owner, said it's the nostalgia that drew her family to Chef-o-nette as well. The oldest daughter of Old Bag of Nails owner and founder Mike Purdum, Stellern grew up in Upper Arlington and visited with her family as well.
She calls the work to be done at the diner more of a refresh than a remodel, more back-of-the house than up front. High on the list, she said: The tiny restrooms will be made more accessible.
Stellern said Chef-o-nette will keep its name, keep the two counters off the kitchen, keep its menu and even keep some of its decor.
“I hope when people return, they'll recognize the place they've known,” she said. “It's important for us and for Harlan for that business to stay open for the community. We're doing it to continue the tradition.”
rvitale@dispatch.com