SABINA — Closed since spring 2014, Kim’s Classic Diner will reopen under a new owner-operator.
Area resident Brian Tedrick was in the satellite TV business which, he said, slowed down and he started looking at the empty diner located on U.S. 22 within Sabina.
He formerly owned a pizza store in Lynchburg and worked as a grill cook at Janelle’s in Blanchester.
“I’ve pretty much cooked all my life,” Tedrick said this week, as he anxiously awaited the Sept. 10 opening.
He made several trips to the 303 W. Washington St. diner site and asked the real estate agent about it.
“I sat in the parking lot one day for a couple hours and watched the [amount of] traffic that went by,” said Tedrick.
Explaining he feels safer owning rather than leasing, he has purchased the diner, a genuine 1946 Silk City diner manufactured by Patterson Vehicle Company.
The revived diner first opened in Sabina in 2003, and Tedrick is keeping the name of the eatery and he’s sticking with classic home-style food.
“I think that’s better than trying to bring in something fancy,” said the 44-year-old Tedrick, an alumnus of Blanchester High School.
But some things will be different.
A new food item on the menu is a 12-ounce super hoagie — the same beef patties used at fairs.
“It’s like that big and that wide,” he said, talking with his hands. It comes with a choice of two sides and a drink for $9.95.
There will be delivery after 2 p.m. in the Sabina area, he said, adding that would be “good for the factories.”
Before stopping to do the interview, Tedrick was making preparations to order material for an “NFL Sunday Night Ticket,” and he plans to offer wings on Sunday nights.
The menu also includes Brian’s Classic Breakfast, a “Sabina backyard burger” special on Wednesdays that features a hamburger dipped in barbecue sauce, a breakfast special served all day Saturdays, and an early-bird breakfast special served daily between 6 and 7 a.m.
It will be open seven days a week. The hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to the end of the Sunday night football game on Sundays.
Carryout is available, and Tedrick encourages on-the-go people traveling on U.S. 22 to call ahead for a pickup order. The phone number is 937-584-7083. He said carryout customers can start calling about 5:30 a.m.
The menu also includes sandwiches such as grilled cheese, BLT, fried bologna on Texas Toast and thick cold-cut meat sandwiches. The french fries will be hand cut and the ice cream hand dipped.
Banana splits, milk shakes and root beer floats, plus cake or pie, are available for dessert or a snack.
It will be a family business, as most of the staff is family.
The diner is accessible to people with handicaps.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768 or on Twitter @GHuffenberger.
