This is an article I wrote for the Times-Gazette
when Nardini′s, a downtown Ashland institution, closed.
|
Nardini’s restaurant is closing for now. But patrons and employees of the downtown landmark have plenty of memories to tide them over.
And, in keeping with the spirit of owners John and Peggy Edwards, they refuse to give up hope that Nardini’s could reopen next year.
The restaurant closes today. The newsstand and confectionery will close too. John and Peggy’s daughter, Rita Edwards, will continue to operate her cleaning and catering business.
Rita has let it be known that, if she happens to be there, regulars are welcome to stop in for a cup of coffee.
John and Peggy Edwards, both 79, have operated the Church Street eatery since 1950. They bought the business from Peggy’s parents, John and Belle Nardini, who had run it for 32 years. The restaurant was founded by another family member, who ran it for 12 years.
Peggy ran the business with the help of family members after John was incapacitated. She is battling cancer and has not been able to spend time at the restaurant.
Depending on how Peggy’s recovery goes, there is a possibility the restaurant could reopen in the spring, Rita said.
Rita represents Nardini’s third generation. Her daughter, Alexis Edwards, helps out with the catering business.
Rita will miss the regulars. Some have been coming there for nearly as long as the Edwards have owned it.
“They’re going to have a bit of a switch in their lives,” she said.
Nardini’s had become a popular morning destination, particularly for middle-age and older men, who often found the heated political discussion as stimulating as the coffee.
“John would sit at the end of the counter and egg them on,” said Rose Malay.
Malay has worked off and on for the Edwards since the early 1980s. She’ll particularly miss the family atmosphere.
“They knew and trusted everybody,” she said.
She recalled that, sometimes when Peggy would be working alone, customers would go to the kitchen door, put in their orders, pour their own coffee and make their own change.
“That’s the kind of stuff I’ll miss,” Malay said.
She also recalled how John would hire needy youngsters to work around the store.
“He would hold back some of the kids’ pay and make them have a savings account,” she said.
Dave Kowalka, Ashland University instructor and former Osborn School principal, has been one of the morning regulars at Nardini’s.
“We were like a family in there, even though we argued sometimes,” he said. “We could talk about anything and argue about things without screaming and hollering. There’s no place like that to go anywhere in town.”
One thing that sticks in his mind is that everyone seemed to have an assigned seat. Some of the regulars sat in a certain booth every day and others seemed to have a favorite stool at the counter.
He was particularly fond of the cinnamon toast.
“The cinnamon toast was always a highlight,” Kowalka said. “If you got it from Peg, it was cinnamon toast with love. It was like going to mom’s.”
On the other hand, John earned a reputation for being an accomplished curmudgeon. Signs, which remain posted behind the counter, reflect his philosophy. One reads: “Children left unattended will be towed away at the owner’s expense.”
Some were offended by John’s biting wit or occasional scathing outbursts. But those who were part of the family learned to take it with a grain of salt.
“I think he enjoys being caustic, but he has a heart of gold,” Kowalka said.
Liz Greshner, a Nardini’s regular for 37 years, agreed with Kowalka’s assessment.
“When I first started going in there, John kind of scared me,” she said. “But, after I got to know John, his bark was worse than his bite.”
Greshner was one of the lunchtime regulars. She ate there daily when she worked for the county auditor’s office. She’s retired now, but continued to stop in about three times a week.
“I’ll miss the camaraderie,” Greshner said. “Usually everyone who ate in there knew each other. It was a fun place to go.”
She’s optimistic that Nardini’s will reopen.
“Hopefully, when Peg gets back on her feet, things will get back to normal,” Greshner said.
Another lunchtime regular, Rosemary Roberts, has been going to Nardini’s for 49 years. She and her husband, William, moved to Ashland from Kentucky and operated a dry cleaning business at Church and West Main streets for about 15 years.
“The children would go over there for pop or a sandwich,” Roberts said. “I went to work after the kids were in school and started going to lunch a couple days a week.”
She has fond memories of Nardini’s.
“John used to tease me about my Southern accent,” Roberts said.
She, too, is optimistic.
“Hopefully, Peg will come through this OK and our prayers are with her,” Roberts said. “She’s a fighter.”
Local attorneys and other professionals with downtown offices were among the lunchtime regulars at Nardini’s. Some, including Thomas J. Budd, held court daily at a booth in the back of the restaurant.
“I’ve been coming there since I was in junior high school,” he said. “I’ve probably been there every day since I became an attorney.”
Budd, a family friend of the Edwards, grew up with Rita.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” he said. “I hope Peg rallies, recovers, gets bored and comes back.”
Like the others, Budd realizes that Nardini’s is one of a kind and part of a vanishing institution — ma and pa restaurants with patrons who are more than just customers.
Regardless of what happens, Budd believes a local historian generations from now will immortalize Nardini’s just as Ashland resident Betty Plank has done with other area institutions.
“It’s a piece of Americana,” he said. “A hundred years from now, the next Betty Plank will find it.”
|
|