Venerable diner cracks its last egg
Oliver’s retiring owners “like a family” to Glenville customers
Bob Bruce fell into conversation with his countermate as he dipped into a pile of breakfast food on Sunday morning.
The Scotia resident has been coming to Oliver’s Cafe for decades, a routine that has remained consistent during his years of service with the state National Guard and a nearby local volunteer firefighter squad.
“They’re like a family to me,” Bruce said. After slinging over 1.1 million eggs, Oliver’s Cafe owners Claudia and Warren Bush retired and closed the restaurant on Sunday after nearly 28 years.
Aside from a few subtle cues — a lingering goodbye here, a joke there — Sunday’s frenetic pace belied nothing.
The restaurant buzzed as a revolving door of customers offered farewells and found space to chalk well-wishes onto walls that have long been converted into a memorial.
“It’s been very overwhelming,” Claudia said during a brief lull. “I’m very emotional. It’s been a good run, 28 years.”
Asked if a reporter should have brought a sympathy or congratulations card, a staffer cracked “both.”
For Claudia and Warren, now is simply the time to retire and enjoy life, ideally with their young grandchildren.
Mary Beth King, a teacher at Jefferson Elementary in the Schalmont Central School District, has long been a weekly presence at the Freeman’s Bridge Road location, often incorporating words and kitchen sounds into writing lessons for her second-graders — mostly in onomatopoeia format. Snap, crackle, hiss.
Kids like noises. Food crackled on the grills as Warren manned the stovetop for the final time, scraping the burners and laying strips of bacon into neat lines before chopping them up and redistributing them on white plates.
The sound of metal-on-metal, sizzling eggs, chopped potatoes. Coffee’s hiss.
Warren and Claudia became a whirl of continuous motion, the conductors of a delicate ballet accompanied by a small crew of black-clad staff, who moved effortlessly in the open kitchen, picking up orders and ferrying them out to a dining room stuffed with customersturned-family.
“You can’t beat the food, you can’t beat the waitstaff,” said Owen Cole, of Charlton. “I’m going to miss it.”
Claudia turned around: “You only order the sausage gravy when your wife’s not here.”
Warren, too, would occasionally swivel around, put his hands on his hips, narrow his eyes and study the tickets before turning back.
“It’s just become a nice Sunday tradition,” said Scotia resident Carol d’estienne, who has been coming for the past year with her husband, Chris. “They’re sweethearts.”
The Bushes previously announced plans to retire, but pulled back.
This time is for real. Claudia said she never thought about the central role that the restaurant has played in peoples’ lives.
“We enjoyed doing what we’re doing,” Claudia said, “and that’s why it’s been so overwhelming.”
After Oliver’s opened in 1993, Cathi Esker’s younger daughter
would draw cartoon characters, particularly Goofy, which delighted Warren. Nearly 30 years later, she dusted off her pencils and sketched a last portrait, which her mom brought as a final gift, where it greeted customers as they cashed out for the final time.
Esker remembered when the venue was known as the Treasure
House, and she was eager three decades ago to learn about the new owners.
“We came and I think we’ve been here nearly every day since,” Esker said. “They make you feel like their family.”
Customers filtered out on Sunday.
“Take tomorrow off,” one joked.
Bruce paused before collecting his things.
“I’m not sure where I’m going to end up,” he said. “I don’t want to leave, but I guess I’ve got to.”
Another cartoon character called out from the memorial wall.
“Don’t cry because it’s over,” read the quote by Dr. Seuss. “Smile because it happened.”