Diner owners believe move to Bentleyville will serve them well
Courtesy Joe Mendola
Slop is a popular menu item at the Carlton Diner.
Rick Shrum
Majority owner Joe Mendola, middle, and partners Matt and Jennifer Cario eagerly anticipate Carlton Diner无毛视频檚 move to Bentleyville.
Rick Shrum
Carlton Diner closed Dec. 29 at its current location in Somerset Township, yards from Interstate 70.
Rick Shrum
The shuttered Boomtown Grill building will be the new home of Carlton Diner, probably in early January.
It无毛视频檚 called Slop 无毛视频� right there on the menu, with a capital 无毛视频淪.无毛视频� And on a plate, the name seems to fit.
But if you stroll into Carlton Diner and bravely partake of this featured entr茅e for the first time, you will be gratified and satisfied by this flavorful mix: ham, sausage, onions, peppers, home fries, egg and cheese, served with Texas toast.
Full and half-orders are available for sit down, and there is Slop on the Run 无毛视频� inside a flour tortilla 无毛视频� for those on the move.
无毛视频淎 lot of high school kids call in for that, pick it up and take it back to school,无毛视频� said Joe Mendola, owner of the Somerset Township dining destination.
Soon, however, Slop and every other item on the menu will be on the move as well. Carlton Diner, a Steelers quarterback Devlin Hodges pass from Interstate 70, closed its current operation Dec. 29 and will reopen in early January at 704 Main St. in Bentleyville. The restaurant, launched by the Carlton family in the 1950s, will relocate three miles to the east, to a building that previously housed Boomtown Grill, which closed in February.
As for the current location, a wrecking ball is in the not-too-distant future. That was the fate of the Carlton Motel, which stood adjacent to the diner before being razed in September. Judy Lohr owned both buildings.
Venue 无毛视频� and an interior renovation thereof 无毛视频� aren无毛视频檛 the only changes associated with the popular local diner. Spouses Jennifer and Matt Cario have joined Mendola as part-owners, with Mendola remaining majority owner. And they plan to serve dinner multiple evenings at the new location.
A seven-day-a-week operation, Carlton Diner has essentially been a breakfast/lunch spot, with a menu featuring lots of omelets, pancakes and waffles. The restaurant is open 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. most days, but on occasional evenings.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 leaning toward five (nights), but we might start with three,无毛视频� Mendola said of dinner, adding that it may be served 无毛视频渢ill eight or nine.无毛视频�
Carlton Diner does have a following, according to Jennifer, a Columbus area native who runs the Bentworth Blessings nonprofit. She said a social media post of the impending move got 545 shares, 550 likes and more than 200 comments.
无毛视频淧eople said they were so worried we weren无毛视频檛 going to stay open,无毛视频� Jennifer said. 无毛视频淭he community is connected to this place.无毛视频�
Matt recognizes that connection.
无毛视频淭here are lots of regulars,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淚 love the culture. There are old-timers who love the coffee, eggs and talk.无毛视频�
无毛视频淎 few people come in every day,无毛视频� Jennifer added. 无毛视频淭here is definitely a culture of regulars.无毛视频�
Mendola, a genial man with a quick sense of humor, shares that impression. He said even though the diner is a short hop off the Kammerer exit of I-70, with signage visible from the highway, it doesn无毛视频檛 attract an appreciable number of commuters from outside the area. That无毛视频檚 why he and the Carios, while scouting other locations, were hoping to find a nearby spot.
The Boomtown site will enable them to keep many of their patrons, while potentially attracting new ones from the more populated borough.
Although he grew up in Kennedy Township, in the west suburbs of Pittsburgh, Matt is a longtime Carlton Diner regular of sorts. Now in his early 40s, he warmly remembers childhood visits to his grandmother in the Bentleyville area, which included treks to the diner. This has evolved into a family tradition for him, his wife and their four children.
无毛视频淛en and I want to spend time with our kids, so we bring them here. There will be a lot of family memories for us,无毛视频� said Matt, a project manager for UPMC in Pittsburgh.
Carlton Diner has been creating memories since the Eisenhower administration. The place was previously known as Carlton Kitchen, and was family owned until 1979, when Lohr purchased it. In 2016, she leased the diner to Mendola.
The majority owner, on occasion, is the sole cook. Asked the size of his staff, Mendola deadpans, 无毛视频渙ne.无毛视频� Then, following a slight pause, he said, 无毛视频淚 actually have a good staff (of 12).无毛视频� The owners plan to expand the workforce at the new, larger location.
By relocating the diner to Bentleyville, Mendola and the Carios also hope to enhance the borough无毛视频檚 business district. Jennifer said three other merchants also will be moving there, including Wild Buffalo Trading Co., a boutique with a Western flair, which shares the doomed building Carlton Diner is abandoning. Wild Buffalo will be across from the diner, in a structure where Matt无毛视频檚 great uncle once was a pharmacist.
An ice cream shop, Scoops on Main, and a bakery are planned as well, according to Jennifer.
Mendola, of Belle Vernon, is pleased not only is the diner surviving, it will do so in a familiar environment.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 excited that we无毛视频檒l be nearby. I无毛视频檝e made a lot of friends, and when you find a community like this, you like to work together. It无毛视频檚 a great place.无毛视频�