ATTICA - Backroads Diner opened in its new Attica location on SR 4 Thursday.
A Bloomville staple for almost 14 years, owner Peg Carrick said she's happy to see the new restaurant open after months of work. But she knows she'll miss some of the people from the former location.
"It was purely a business move," Carrick said. "I have to do for the business what I have to do."
Article Photos
PHOTO BY VICKI JOHNSON
Cindy Chambers (left), Kourtney Carrick, Peg Carrick and Marty Chambers (standing) take a break after the lunch rush in the counter area of the Backroads Diner in Attica.
The new location on the busy street through town makes the restaurant convenient for local people as well as travelers passing through Attica.
"It's a little bigger community and there are a few more businesses," she said. "We had a fair amount of Attica people come (to Bloomville)."
In the first two days, Carrick said business was a combination of old customers and new ones. Many Bloomville people have driven the seven or eight miles to the new place.
"It's been very good," she said. "I think the community has given us a great welcome."
Evenings have been the busiest time, she said, but lunchtime also has been packed.
The new restaurant has 22 more seats available than the former location.
"We could add a few more if we needed to," she said.
After she made the decision to move, Carrick said it took some time to remodel the new building. It needed new plumbing and she had a few issues with delays.
She kept the Bloomville restaurant going while she was remodeling the new one with new paint and other decor.
"My family did a lot of the work," she said. "We all put in some long hours."
As the new location opens, she is joined by Marty and Cindy Chambers as well as eight new employees. Almost all the employees are still there, but they added three or four other cooks to work in the kitchen preparing food. Four new servers were hired, along with a couple more dishwashers.
Carrick said the old building in Bloomville is for sale and she hopes somebody will use it. But she isn't able to keep two locations going.
"No," she said, shaking her head emphatically.
"I do all the pie crusts," she said. "Some of the other (cooks) sometimes fill them. Our pies are still all homemade. Our soups and salads too."
There are some new items on the menu, but the old favorites still are there too.
Hours are 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 6 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
