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鈥檚 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鈥檚 called Slop 鈥� right there on the menu, with a capital 鈥淪.鈥� 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 鈥� inside a flour tortilla 鈥� for those on the move.
鈥淎 lot of high school kids call in for that, pick it up and take it back to school,鈥� 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 鈥� and an interior renovation thereof 鈥� aren鈥檛 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.
鈥淚鈥檓 leaning toward five (nights), but we might start with three,鈥� Mendola said of dinner, adding that it may be served 鈥渢ill eight or nine.鈥�
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.
鈥淧eople said they were so worried we weren鈥檛 going to stay open,鈥� Jennifer said. 鈥淭he community is connected to this place.鈥�
Matt recognizes that connection.
鈥淭here are lots of regulars,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 love the culture. There are old-timers who love the coffee, eggs and talk.鈥�
鈥淎 few people come in every day,鈥� Jennifer added. 鈥淭here is definitely a culture of regulars.鈥�
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鈥檛 attract an appreciable number of commuters from outside the area. That鈥檚 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.
鈥淛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,鈥� 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, 鈥渙ne.鈥� Then, following a slight pause, he said, 鈥淚 actually have a good staff (of 12).鈥� 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鈥檚 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鈥檚 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.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited that we鈥檒l be nearby. I鈥檝e made a lot of friends, and when you find a community like this, you like to work together. It鈥檚 a great place.鈥�