by Bailey Rankin, Student Reporter
The opening of the 818 Diner was six years in the making.
For six years, the Parsons family talked about opening a yogurt shop. Then a coffee shop. And finally, a diner.
Terri Parsons, one of the 818 Diner’s four owner/operators, said that she and her family have wanted to open something like a diner in the past. For a while, time was the only thing that kept the family from opening one. However, they have now found the time to do it
Parsons said she and her family opened the diner to help the community.
“We felt like Alva needed [a diner],” Parsons said. “I felt like Alva needed something that opened early and was open on Mondays because so many things in Alva are closed on that day.”
The 818 Diner is open 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. every day except Tuesdays. Parsons said the diner is not open on evenings yet because the business is “new,” and the family is still “ironing the little things out.”
“I need to make sure I love it and am not ‘over-committed,’” Parsons said. “Maybe someday we will be open in the evenings, but we just need to get it open, do it right, and get those good key people around.”
Parsons and her husband, Don, operated restaurants before they moved to Alva with their two sons, who help run the restaurant. Most days, Max arrives at 5 a.m. to start cooking. Joe checks on customers and greets those who come in.
So far, the hardest part of opening the diner has been choosing which items to put on the menu – and telling the cooks how to make the recipes Parsons has called for.
“It’s hard to get what I envision to the cook’s hand so that they can make it like I want done,” Parsons said. “It is a process, but we have some great staff that are doing a great job, and we’ve been really lucky with that.”
Parsons said business has been great since the diner opened. So far, the diner has had several “repeat” customers. In fact, Parsons said, one customer shows up each day at 6 a.m.
“We’ve had a lot of people in, a lot of happy people,” she said. “I mean, it hasn’t been perfect every time, but most of the time it does go well.”
Parsons said her goal with the diner is to do good for the community.
“I hope we do a good job for the community,” she said. “I think the food and the service is getting better every day. It’s getting faster, and we just want to be an asset to the town of Alva.”