CATO #- For nearly 40 years the Cato Diner has been a fixture of the village offering good food and good friends.
Jennifer Meyers / The Citizen
Mark Fabrizio, of Cato, sips a cup of coffee at the Cato Diner on a Monday morning.
Mark Fabrizio, of Cato, sips a cup of coffee at the Cato Diner on a Monday morning.
“I've been coming here for almost 40 years,” Jerry Colvin said. “I've been friends with all the people that have owned it, and it has always been a good place with good food and good friends.”
It was this standard that Jeff Cook, of Weedsport, wanted to continue when he took over the diner three months ago.
“I came up here a few times for lunch,” Cook said. “I really liked the area, and I always thought it was a good place.”
Cook said that one way or the other he has been in the food business his whole life.
“I've been cooking since I was 14,” he said. “It is just something I've always liked doing. I've always liked being creative and working in the kitchen.”
When Cook decided it was time to strike out on his own, he immediately thought the Cato Diner would be a great place to start his career of running his own place.
“I always wanted to have my own place,” he remembers. “I knew that I wanted to start with this kind of restaurant. A kind of place that is easy to manage; the kind of place that people can fall in love with.”
Coming into the diner business, Cook said that he had some pretty specific ideas about what he wanted to do and where he wanted to take the restaurant. For Cook this began with the menu.
“Most everything on the menu is my own creation,” he relayed. “There are a lot of things on there that you won't find in a typical diner. There are saute items and even seafood. It isn't just meat loaf and mashed potatoes, but we have those things too. We try to have something for everyone.”
Cook combines this with a friendly personable staff to make the entire experience all the more enjoyable.
“Everybody knows everybody,” Colvin said. “There are good friends here and good food. I can't complain about anything. Everything here is good.”
Cook said that there are a few house specialties that seem to go over really well with all the customers.
“The barbecue ribs and steaks,” Cook said. “Those are really my specialty, and everyone who tries them really compliments us on them.”
Cook said that making good food comes from using only the best ingredients and having a real hands on approach with every dish.
“I think we have the best food around,” he said. “You really can't find such good food for the price and such a wide variety anywhere else around here. But making good food is in the way I prepare everything. I'm always back there cooking. This is what I love to do, and I'm always here making sure everything is the best.”
The word has gotten out since Cook took over, and this news has been attracting new customers.
“We've been by before,” Donna Bradway said. “We heard that it was under new ownership, and we thought we'd stop in and try it out.”
Donna's husband, Tom, said that he was impressed with the fine service and atmosphere in the diner. “It is real family-style food,” he said. “It is very convenient, and with this kind of food, it is usually better and fresher.”
A big draw in the summer has been the ice cream shop attached to the diner.
“There are people there all day,” Cook said. “But in the evening, it gets really crazy. I think we have the best ice cream around and that really draws them in.
“My goal is to have people lined up out the door,” he continues. “Every day that is what I want to see. And we'll get there.”
Cook plans to revitalize the entire diner, and he has added on more evening hours in hopes of drawing more customers.
“We are starting small,” he said. “There are a lot of changes I want to make. Right now, we have to get the word out that we are here. It is going to take time, but we are going to get there.”
It was this standard that Jeff Cook, of Weedsport, wanted to continue when he took over the diner three months ago.
“I came up here a few times for lunch,” Cook said. “I really liked the area, and I always thought it was a good place.”
Cook said that one way or the other he has been in the food business his whole life.
“I've been cooking since I was 14,” he said. “It is just something I've always liked doing. I've always liked being creative and working in the kitchen.”
When Cook decided it was time to strike out on his own, he immediately thought the Cato Diner would be a great place to start his career of running his own place.
“I always wanted to have my own place,” he remembers. “I knew that I wanted to start with this kind of restaurant. A kind of place that is easy to manage; the kind of place that people can fall in love with.”
Coming into the diner business, Cook said that he had some pretty specific ideas about what he wanted to do and where he wanted to take the restaurant. For Cook this began with the menu.
“Most everything on the menu is my own creation,” he relayed. “There are a lot of things on there that you won't find in a typical diner. There are saute items and even seafood. It isn't just meat loaf and mashed potatoes, but we have those things too. We try to have something for everyone.”
Cook combines this with a friendly personable staff to make the entire experience all the more enjoyable.
“Everybody knows everybody,” Colvin said. “There are good friends here and good food. I can't complain about anything. Everything here is good.”
Cook said that there are a few house specialties that seem to go over really well with all the customers.
“The barbecue ribs and steaks,” Cook said. “Those are really my specialty, and everyone who tries them really compliments us on them.”
Cook said that making good food comes from using only the best ingredients and having a real hands on approach with every dish.
“I think we have the best food around,” he said. “You really can't find such good food for the price and such a wide variety anywhere else around here. But making good food is in the way I prepare everything. I'm always back there cooking. This is what I love to do, and I'm always here making sure everything is the best.”
The word has gotten out since Cook took over, and this news has been attracting new customers.
“We've been by before,” Donna Bradway said. “We heard that it was under new ownership, and we thought we'd stop in and try it out.”
Donna's husband, Tom, said that he was impressed with the fine service and atmosphere in the diner. “It is real family-style food,” he said. “It is very convenient, and with this kind of food, it is usually better and fresher.”
A big draw in the summer has been the ice cream shop attached to the diner.
“There are people there all day,” Cook said. “But in the evening, it gets really crazy. I think we have the best ice cream around and that really draws them in.
“My goal is to have people lined up out the door,” he continues. “Every day that is what I want to see. And we'll get there.”
Cook plans to revitalize the entire diner, and he has added on more evening hours in hopes of drawing more customers.
“We are starting small,” he said. “There are a lot of changes I want to make. Right now, we have to get the word out that we are here. It is going to take time, but we are going to get there.”
