Nostalgia is the key ingredient at a restaurant that recently opened in Chagrin Falls. It鈥檚 new, but the menu is retro, and the location's familiar.
For seven years, the sign outside said Fresh Start Diner, and before that for half a century it was Dink鈥檚 Colonial Restaurant, a Chagrin Falls culinary landmark.
Jack Krissinger has renamed it . 鈥淚鈥檓 the owner-operator-chef-general crazy person.鈥�
He鈥檚 a Chagrin Falls townie from way back.
鈥淢y mom and dad still live in the same house for the last 44 years.鈥� They鈥檙e regulars at his new diner along with other folks he grew up with; "a lot of the guys I played soccer with in Chagrin, and a lot of the people I graduated with have stopped in.鈥�
New owner a formerregular
Growing up, when it was Dink鈥檚, Krissinger himself would stop in often.
鈥淚 used to sit on the end of the counter. I鈥檇 get a burger and fries, and I paid 15 cents extra for the lettuce on my burger. And it was just kind of the local place that you could actually afford to go and eat. Back then there were more places like that around here.鈥�
Krissinger left Chagrin Falls decades ago and developed a reputation as a turn-around specialist for hotel restaurants, a career that took him all over the country. But then the economy tanked in 2008. 鈥淪o I floated around a bit, and ended up back home and buying the local diner.鈥�
He wanted to bring back the kind of food he could no longer find in his hometown.
鈥淓verybody鈥檚 going higher end. Everybody鈥檚 trying to come up with the next gimmick. There鈥檚 hardly any old-school places.鈥�
Priced for comfort
Except, he says, for his new place. At North Main Diner. he鈥檚 offering comfort food at what he considers comfortable prices.
鈥淲e have meat loaf; we have pot roast. Burgers and fries for 5 bucks. A milkshake is $3.50.鈥�
Waitress and soda jerk Elizabeth Greenfield makes milkshakes as well as ice cream sodas, malts, floats and 13 flavors of phosphates.
鈥淔rom simple ones of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, cherry, to watermelon, blueberry, raspberry, and Tiger鈥檚 Blood which is an old 1930s recipe. It鈥檚 coconut, watermelon, and pineapple.鈥�
Tiger鈥檚 Blood goes over well with the after-school crowd from Chagrin High where Tigers are the mascots. When he was a Tiger, Jack Krissinger would hang out at the town鈥檚 many soda fountains. They鈥檙e all long gone, but now North Main Diner has one.
鈥淚 went out and bought an old-fashioned 1948 Bastian-Blessing soda fountain.鈥�
Fizzy from NewYork
A 69-year resident of Chagrin Falls often sits at the fountain. Steve Thomas has been coming here since his early teens when it was Dink鈥檚.
鈥淚 would stop here to get a cup of coffee after delivering my newspapers. And I thought that was very grown-up to do.鈥�
Today he has chosen a barbecued grilled chicken sandwich with cole slaw instead of fries.
鈥淚n deference to my age and cholesterol. And I鈥檓 topping it off with a chocolate egg cream soda which I鈥檝e never had before.鈥�
His waitress, Elizabeth Greenfield, suggested the New York-style treat. 鈥淎n egg cream is half and half flavored syrup and soda water,鈥� she informs him.
Return of the Mawbyburger
But the main attraction at Jack Krissinger鈥檚 North Main Diner is what comes off the grill.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 actually the original grill from when it was Dink鈥檚,鈥� says Krissinger, 鈥渁nd most of this is original equipment and been here forever.鈥�
Grill chef Beth Magersupp is another original.鈥�I鈥檝e been cooking in this building for over 30 years.鈥�
Magersupp is expert at cooking the legendary Mawby burger. The owner of Mawby鈥檚, the classic hamburger joint that originated in Cleveland Heights in 1935, was George Mawby, and his nickname was Dink.
鈥淭he ladies who owned Dink鈥檚 worked for the Mawby鈥檚,鈥� says Magersupp, 鈥渁nd they taught me how to do everything.鈥�
They taught her to make it thin.鈥�It鈥檚 a 4-ounce patty served with tomatoes and pickles, American cheese, and of course the Mawby onions.鈥�
We wondered what makes the onions so special."They鈥檙e paprika onions," says Magersupp. "We use a salt and pepper blend on them, and butter, and they just have to cook for a very, very long time.鈥�
She loves the expression on customers鈥� faces when they open the menu. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e like, 鈥榊ou have the what? The Mawby burger? I haven鈥檛 had that since I was a kid.鈥�
North Main Diner鈥檚 Jack Krissinger says the popularity of the simple burger shows food doesn鈥檛 have to be fancy to be fabulous.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to have lobster mac and cheese or truffle mac and cheese. Just make the cheese sauce, make a Velveeta cheese sauce and put it on macaroni! It鈥檚 good. Everyone remembers their childhood and that鈥檚 what it tastes like.鈥�
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