BELLVILLE — Richland County residents now have the opportunity to recreate signature dishes from the San-Dar Smorgasbord in their own kitchens.
Darrell Banks, Richland County commissioner and former owner of the San-Dar, donated two copies of The Book of Lost Recipes to the Mansfield-Richland County Public Library on Wednesday.
“I bought books for Christmas for the kids and grandkids, and thought the library should have some too,” Banks said. “They’ll have one at the main branch and one in Bellville.”
Banks’ parents, Dorothy and Gene Banks, founded the San-Dar in 1948. Darrell bought the business in 1981 and ran it through 1994 when it closed.
The 2016 Book of Lost Recipes hosts a collection of recipes from historic restaurants and hotels.
Author Jaya Saxena reached out to Banks, then the mayor of Bellville, when she was working on the book. Banks said someone from Columbus told Saxena she should include the San-Dar.
“Jaya was working in New York and she called my office saying she wanted to get in contact with someone from the San-Dar,” Banks said. “I said I’m the ‘Dar’ from San-Dar.
“We emailed back and forth for a few months and she put two of our recipes in there. The cashew nut dressing is one of my favorites.”
The San-Dar’s cashew nut dressing and Dutch apple dessert recipes are on pages 166-171 of the cookbook.
Banks said the San-Dar staff was cooking for a much larger crowd, but the recipes in Saxena’s book have been cut down for family kitchens.
“They’re two of the most popular recipes, but we had 125, so everybody had their own favorites,” the commissioner said. “All the restaurants in here have been out of business for some time. We’d have closed 30 years ago in December this year.”
Dorothy Banks sparked the idea for smorgasbord
The San-Dar opened as “Banks Soda Grill” in 1948, serving hamburgers, milkshakes and short order meals.
“They opened two weeks before I was born,” Banks said. “My mom had the idea of a smorgasbord, and my dad said that’s crazy. If everyone ate as much as he did, he said they wouldn’t make any money.
“But my mother persisted, bought all the food she could buy for $50 and it worked, they made money, for three weekends in a row. Eventually, they stopped short-order cooking and only did the buffet.”
Banks said the restaurant fed nearly 2,000 customers on Mother’s Day in 1976, the most they ever served in a day.
“The town’s population at the time probably wasn’t more than 1,300 or 1,400,” the commissioner said. “A lot of groups came down on buses for tours or shows and things like that.”
The restaurant, named for Dorothy and Gene’s children Sandy and Darrell, started with 26 seats. It later added the Fireplace Room, the J.D. Room and Kyle’s Korner.
By 1978, the restaurant could seat 326 people.
The Banks family also built and operated the San-Dar Acres Golf Course. Darrell and his wife Marty started Pizza-on-the-Alley and later San-Dar Tours and Hospitality Services.
“It was a lot of fun running the smorgasbord. We had great customers and a great workforce,” Darrell said. “I don’t think I’d do it again, but it was a great 40 years.”
Banks said the San-Dar usually saw visitors from all 50 states each year, as well as some international visitors. Some famous people, including Paul Simon, Paul Newman and Lou Groza also visited.
“My parents made a really great team running it,” Banks said. “It wouldn’t have been as successful as it was without their teamwork.”
Chris May, MRCPL director, said the cookbooks are cataloged and ready to be checked out.
“Our cookbook section is one of the most popular in the library,” he said. “We’re grateful that Mr. Banks thought to donate these to us. We’re proud to preserve this piece of Richland County history.”