Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Main Street Diner Review

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Mid Rivers Newsmagazine Restaurant Spotlight Archive

Main Street Diner: An Old-Time Jewel In Old Town

By Mary Ann O'Toole Holley

In an age when hometown diners are disappearing faster than pay telephone booths, Main Street Diner serves as a wakeup call that takes you back to when Cadillac convertibles came in colors of spring green and sweet shops served malts in metal beakers.

Owners John and Linda Grillo believe in doing business the old-fashioned way.

With a hello by name and waitresses that smile and mean it, Main Street Diner, aptly located in St. Peters' Old Town, brings meat and potato meals in diner-sized portions from a short-order, no frills menu.

"We have daily specials, but nothin' real fancy," said Manager Ed Grillo. "It's just good old-fashioned food with cheap prices and huge portions."

Main Street Diner serves comfort and good eats from Formica tables. Most mornings you'll see a full house of patrons and there are always the oh-so-familiar sounds of clunking coffee cups and bacon sizzling on the grill.

Ignoring the tides of trend - commissary food and "sorry, we don't do breakfast" - the Grillo family serves food like mom used to make: three eggs over easy, please, and don't forget the catsup. Soup, salad, half-pound hamburgers (or pound-size doubles, if you wish) wrap up a more than adequate menu that will make you question the absence of doing breakfast out.

"We wanted a simple menu," Grillo said. "It's just a diner."

A few truck drivers from the Quick Trip next door may mosey in, but a lot are regular customers, Grillo said. People come to meet, eat and stay a while. Every Friday the "airplane guys" come in. Another table accommodates the city firefighters. There are senior groups once a month, but all have one thing in common: they fill up the tables, sit down and enjoy it, Grillo said.

Breakfast is served from 6 'til 11 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, but Sunday's breakfast stretches until noon. Try two eggs, any style, two biscuits and gravy at $4.29. Go for two eggs, any style, with a chicken fried steak, one biscuit and gravy at $5.99.

Pancakes, two short stacks, sell for a mere $1.95. Add an egg at 80 cents, and you've got a hearty meal for less than $3. Eggs and cheese on toast are $2.50, with sausage, bacon or ham.

Main Street Scramblers served with toast are popular. Uncle John's Goulash - three scrambled eggs, cheese, mushrooms, green pepper, sausage and onion mixed with fried potatoes, sell for $5.99 and are guaranteed to get your motor running.

Aunt Katie's choice features three scrambled eggs, cheese, a choice of sausage or bacon mixed with fried potatoes topped with gravy at $5.99.

"It's the food we started cooking at home," Grillo said. "We all said it was a good seller, so why not bring it to the diner."

When Grillo says "we," he means it. Main Street Diner is a family affair for the Grillo family. Ed's wife Lisa and two of his sisters work as wait staff. His sister Debbie Grillo did the interior decorating with a cornucopia of country signs, a Kit-Kat clock with roving eyes and a wagging tail, and bright yellow walls painted almost the color of the eggs they serve. Old-time photos and news clippings of St. Peters' bygone era serve as countertop art gallery with images dating back 100 years or more. The decoupaged details of the countertop remind customers of the way life used to be in St. Peters, before strip malls became mainstream and Mid Rivers Mall Drive was just a twinkle in a developer's eye.

Owner John Grillo, a former caterer, decided that a diner niche in Old Town where he and his family grew up seemed like a good fit. So he bought his brother's house and moved forward.

Main Street Diner opened in April, after it was Ed's residence for eight years. The small ranch home built in the late 1950s was remodeled and renovated, and Ed's once lush green lawn was ripped from its roots and replaced with a parking lot. The rest is history for the spot he once called home.

"It's kind of weird to come home every day to go to work. It feels like. uh, home," said Grillo. "I think the draw is the homey feeling, good food and friendly wait staff."

Lunch and dinner choices integrate a finer touch with rib eye steak dinners, featuring a dinner salad, four shrimp and a baked potato for $10.99.

"People say we have the best burgers around," Grillo said of the half-pound, choice Black Angus beef served up daily.

There are plenty of sandwiches, like the Philly cheese steak of thinly sliced roasted beef topped with onion, mushrooms, green peppers and mozzarella on a roll ($5.49). Go for a grilled chicken breast served on a Kaiser roll, topped with lettuce and tomato ($6.29) or a French dip au jus, with thinly sliced roasted beef topped with melted Swiss cheese on French bread ($5.49). All sandwiches are served with fries, of course.

Soups, tuna or chicken salad served on a bed of lettuce are $5.99, and the Rueben features lean corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese on grilled rye bread ($5.99).

The non-smoking establishment is a comfortable spot. Some come for breakfast and stay for lunch.

"We know our customers, lots of them on a first-name basis," Grillo said. "Oh look. Lill's here. Gotta get her table ready."

Grillo apologizes to the customers at the table in the corner, but asks if they'd move. Lill likes that table, and doesn't do steps well, Grillo said. For the rest, the sunken dining room serves them well, he said.

"If we can accommodate customers, we do," Grillo said. "Lill likes our fried mushrooms. We don't serve them for breakfast, but for her, we'll whip them up. Even on Sundays when we don't do appetizers, we take care of her. We like to make our customers happy."

Main Street Diner is located at 315 Main Street in Old Town St. Peters. Exit Hwy. 70 and head north. Make a left on Main Street, and use the Quick Trip as your marker. Main Street Diner may be hidden, but it's a jewel for those who want a respite from the maddening crowd.

Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 6 a.m. to noon. Carryouts are available, but not after 8 a.m. on Sundays. Call 636-397-6260 for more information.