Loyalty Developed Over Decades Helps Diner Through Tough Times

A view of the outside of Silver Spring’s Tastee Diner. (Photos by Lindsay Kalter)

Related links: Tastee Diner Silver Spring Historical Society's photos of the Tastee Diner move.

By Lindsay Kalter
Special to Maryland Newsline
Friday, Dec. 12, 2008

SILVER SPRING, Md. - When Patricia Barry first set foot in Silver Spring’s Tastee Diner, televisions were novel, racial segregation plagued the country and a man had yet to walk on the moon. Now, 50 years later, she remains a loyal customer.

“I come in every day for breakfast and most evenings for dinner,” she says, as a waitress serves up a heaping plate of mashed potatoes and baked turkey. “It’s just a friendly place. And the food is good."

“It’s not that phony-baloney stuff that other places serve,” the waitress says over her shoulder, moving on to her next table.

Thanks to die-hard customers like Barry, Tastee Diner has seen steady business even during economic crises like the current one, says Manager Lisa Wilkes, whose parents, Gene and Eula, have owned the restaurant for 37 years.

Wilkes says that unlike well-known chains that have popped up during Silver Spring’s gentrification, the diner has the advantage of being a community fixture.

Tastee Diner, which opened in 1946, was originally located in the 8500 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. It was moved to its current spot on Cameron Steet in June 2000 to make room for Discovery Communications headquarters. Instead of demolishing the building and started anew, the structure was moved in its entirety to preserve its original form.

“It’s a historical building landmark,” Wilkes says. “There’s not quite a restaurant like the Tastee Diner. We certainly stand out.”

Paul Terko, who has been a manager at the diner for four years, discusses Martha McCall's devoted customers. (Video by Lindsay Kalter)

Martha McCall serves dinner-time customers during a Tuesday shift.

John Barry, Patricia’s son, started coming with his mother to Tastee Diner in the ’70s and quickly became a restaurant regular.

“It’s got a very friendly nature about it,” he says. “Other places still maintain some formalities. [Tastee Diner] is more informal.”

He adds that Tastee Diner is more than just a place to grab a bite.

“Over a number of years, you develop memories,” he says. “After a while, coming here isn’t like stepping into a room; it’s stepping into a part of your life.”

Martha McCall, a server at Tastee Diner for more than 40 years, says she has several regular customers who specifically request her as their server. She says its intimate feel sets it apart from other restaurants.

“It’s just like coming to a home-cooked meal,” she says. “It’s a place to come and meet people and talk and relax.”

The menu's dinner items include pork chops, liver and onions, and cube steak, and range from $6.25 for a hamburger to $16.25 for a T-Bone steak. A Thanksgiving feast can be had for $10 a person.

Sharon Etheridge, who has been a server at Tastee Diner for more than three years, says the familiarity provided by long-term staff members is in large part what keeps the regulars coming in.

“There are people who come in just when [Martha’s] working,” Etheridge says. “If she’s not here for some reason when she’s supposed to be, believe it or not, they’ll leave.”

Pictures of long-time customers hang on the wall behind the check-out counter, along with signed photographs of local politicians who have stopped in over the years. Etheridge does her best to identify each one, stopping occasionally to say “Hi, honey,” or “Hey there, sweetheart” when the front door swings open.

One picture is of a couple in their seventies, who met at Tastee Diner almost 50 years ago and shortly after became husband and wife.

Another picture is of a 20-something man wearing Army fatigues, holding up a white shirt that said “Tastee Diner” in red letters.

“He used to come in here all the time. He’s in Iraq now,” Etheridge says. “We sent him a Tastee Diner shirt, so he sent us a picture.”

Wilkes says being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week doesn’t hurt business, either. The only time the diner closes is Christmas, starting at noon the day before.

“Even then, people are looking at us like, ‘No, don’t close!’ ” she says.

It’s this consistency, along with friendly faces, that keeps business alive, she says.

Copyright © 2008 University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism

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