One in 8,200 Where the personalities of Middlebury proper are celebrated After 20 years in town, Steve Park maintains loyal diner following

Author: Sarah Harris

On a snowy Monday morning, Steve's Park Diner is a cozy oasis. At 7:30 a.m., the place is already hopping with regulars enjoying full plates of eggs, pancakes and hash browns. I scan the specials: Silver Dollar Pancakes, mushroom and cheese omelets and chipped beef and gravy on toast. Before ordering, I sit down over coffee with Steve Park, the diner's founder. He is cheery, and I already see why the diner has accrued a loyal following over the past 20 years.

"I came in here 20 years ago," said Steve. "I was a chef up at Middlebury College for 15 years and I always wanted my own business. So we decided to make the break."

Park's family was instrumental in the creation of the diner - he credits the help of his wife and daughter in running the organization. "My favorite thing in here," Park said, "is the people. Boy, I get anybody, everybody." Be it college kids in for a late breakfast (served until 2 p.m.), regulars who have been dining for the past 20 years or the Middlebury Union High School football team, which has eaten Park's breakfast before every Friday game since 1989. Steve smiles down at his cup of coffee. Now, he says, football players from decades past bring their young children to the diner. "I like to think we grow our new customers."

Over the summer, the diner underwent remodeling and now boasts new carpets, chairs and tables. "I tried to spruce her up a bit," he said. The walls are no longer covered with 1960s-era paneling, but with the work of local artists.

My pancakes arrive - steaming discs the size of my entire plate. I am impressed. Yet, pancakes are not Park's only specialty. He also runs a sugaring operation. "All the maple sugar you see in here," said Steve, "is the stuff we make. We go through 500 or 600 gallons of syrup a year." Only once has Park received a request for fake syrup - from, of all people, a high school classmate.

Our interview draws to a close, and I'm eager to dive into my food. Steve and I rise to shake hands. He flashes a smile. "Try the maple syrup. We made it last night."