Saying Goodbye to Rudnick's

Its great service, monster sandwiches at unbeatable prices and the biggest selection of appetizers I’ve ever seen have made it THE place to grab a bite to eat in Washington County since 1982. But not for much longer. Owners Sherry and Vince Rudnick have decided to retire this December and are shutting the doors after 36 years of service.

Rudnick’s opened as a bar in 1982 and expanded into a restaurant in 1988. The right side was a beer distributor, as well as a feed store at one point. Above the bar, the second story served as living place for the family. When Vince’s father and grandmother passed away in 1997, Vince and Sherry took over ownership. Vince was working a full-time job in the coalmine, first at Marianna and then later at Emerald, so Sherry quit her job at JCPenney’s and took over running the day-to-day activities. The beer distributor closed due to a technicality of holding 2 liquor licenses.

The restaurant started with a large fish sandwich, large fries and the now-famous burger, and eventually expanded into the full menu that’s available now, with daily specials, and probably the best selection of appetizers around (we recommend the buffalo chips). “We’re always adding new things, trying out new ideas,” Sherry says. “If something doesn’t work after a few weeks, we move on to the next thing.”

But its the one-pound burger that bring the crowds in. “Out here, you need a draw and we never advertised,” says Sherry.

And with a burger that big – and that delicious – it’s all the advertising Rudnick’s ever needed. Word of mouth about those one-pound burgers has brought customers from all over the United States to try one, bringing them in from as far away as Alaska.

The particulars of a burger that size brought about a new problem – finding the bun to hold it. A regular bun just wouldn’t do; too small, too flimsy, they just weren’t the right match for the extra-beefy burger. “We started with the bun for the Whopper, but it wasn’t the right consistency. Then we went with an Italian. But those weren’t right, either. Eventually we found the right one, a French boule bun from US Foods.”

And it’s not just the burgers that are big at Rudnick’s. Hoagies are served on a 22” bun. “When we do things, we do them different,” says Sherry. “You order it here, you get it oversized. We want to make it better than it what is.”

A favorite special is their Thursday pot roast. They use one of their famous hamburger buns, hollowed out, and add the pot roast, mashed potatoes, and gravy. If you want one of those, better call ahead because “they’ll be sold out before 4:30 that day.”

Other local favorites include Wing Wednesdays and the grilled steak and cheese on homemade Texas toast-style buns, baked fresh by DJs Diner in Carmichaels. The burger is offered on this bread, as well. The meats for their sandwiches come from the Fredericktown Butcher Shop. Sherry says the miners in the area have their own favorite, “They like to order the double burger, which is two of our burger patties, dressed three times – on the bottom bun, between the patties, and again on the top.”

Rudnick’s used to have late hours, with DJs, “but it was just too much to deal with in addition to the kitchen. We’ve even cut back on hours over the years. The kitchen used to be open to 10, but a few years back we cut it down 9. There just wasn’t much business in that last hour. At one point the business was open 7 days a week, but eventually we started closing on Sundays, and then on Mondays,” Sherry says.

Saturday nights still find a line wrapping around outside, full of customers waiting to get in for a table. Sherry says that Saturday nights have always been busy, but now with the gas wells and the closing announcement, they’re busier than ever.

The decision to shut Rudnick’s doors permanently wasn’t an easy one. Sherry and Vince gave their 5 children the option to purchase the business, but none of them want to take on the daunting task of running the restaurant and bar. And they don’t want to sell it outside of the family, leaving them only with the choice to close.

“We offered it to the children two years ago,” says Sherry, who works at the bar and restaurant from about 7:30am to 9:30pm every night. “But they didn’t want to have to work from 7 in the morning until 10 at night, every night. It’s very hard to do.”

Sherry is proud of what her and Vince have created, and even though she’s looking forward to retirement and traveling, she’s still a little sad to see Rudnick’s go. After all it’s been a large part of her life for a long time.

“The girls that work for me, the guys that do the wings and steaks, they’re like my family,” Sherry says with a smile. “I have girls that have been with us 27 years, 15 years… I’m totally amazed with my crew. I work side by side with them, I couldn’t function without them.”

Sherry and Vince have been part of the Amwell Township community for most of their lives. Vince’s father and grandmother bought the farm in 1958 and brought the family to live there from the Pittsburgh area. Rudnick’s is a part of that farm; Sherry and Vince still own the beef farm and have about 30 head of cattle and 2 donkeys on the 140-acre farm. They hope to expand the farm during retirement.

The buildings that would become part of Rudnick’s have their own interesting history. Built in 1854, the main building has served as a general store and phone company. The left backroom was once a church and on the building to the right has been used as residences, for feed, and as a beer distributor. Across the road near the creek, a four-story mill with a wheel sat (where the Rudnick’s sign sits now) and down the road was Martin Mills covered bridge. All of these building were featured in a local book, Country Gal by Nancy Martin Shidler.

“When we remodeled the building to create the front addition, we discovered the wooden slats for running nails down,” Sherry says. “We still have the dumbwaiter upstairs in the attic.”

The community will miss the Rudnick’s generosity as much as the one-of-a kind burgers. Each year, Rudnick’s hosts a cancer benefit in November, where funds are raised to donate to local people struggling with cancer. Last year the event raised $7500. In December, they hold a Customer Appreciation Christmas Party, with free food, drinks, and raffle baskets. This year and for the last time, the event will be held on December 22. Those little touches, like candy bowls on the tables throughout October and providing snacks for the kids as a stop in the Lone Pine Tractor Poker Run, are part of what has endeared customers to Rudnick’s and will make it so sorely missed.

If you haven’t eaten at Rudnick’s yet, better hurry – the doors are closing on December 23rd. Thank you, Sherry and Vince, for providing a place for the community for 36 years.

Published in Holiday I 2018 GreeneScene Magazine.