MANSFIELD, Ohio—Family. In a word, that’s a fitting way to describe Derrenberger’s Family Restaurant, which is slated for closure on Saturday, Feb. 28.
From their employees on staff—some of whom have been with the business for over 20 years—to their devoted customers who regularly visit, as well as their homemade recipes and long family history, Derrenberger’s truly is a family restaurant.
Cindy Bogantz, who has been a waitress at Derrenberger’s for the past 25 years, described the business as her “home away from home.”
Although it’s hard to say goodbye, Ty Wood, co-owner of the restaurant with his wife Deb, said he’s had a good experience. He and his wife have been working at the restaurant for 24 and 30-plus years, respectively.
“When I first started, I had no restaurant experience,” he said. “It was difficult at first to adjust to it because I had never done anything like that before, but once I got used to it, it was fine.”
Conversely, Deb Wood grew up in the food service industry. Her late father, Jack Derrenberger, managed the former Howard Johnson’s Restaurant on the corner of Lexington Avenue and Trimble Road beginning in 1966. It eventually became Derrenberger’s.
Prior to working as a Howard Johnson’s manager, Jack Derrenbgerger and his wife Ruth owned a small gourmet grocery store in Loudonville. Because of that, the Derrenbergers were inspired to open their own restaurant (Derrenberger’s) in 1980 when the owner of the Howard Johnson’s wanted to sell the building.
Derrenberger’s was located at 1402 Lexington Avenue until 2012. In July of that year, the owners’ lease was terminated, which led to their move about half a mile up the street to their current location of 1120 Lexington Avenue.
Within about four months of the move, they had the new site up and running.
In a previous interview, Deb Wood shared how fortunate they are to have had such loyal customers. “We are so lucky with all of the loyal customers around here—they are unbelievable…We get customers who come here five, six, and seven times a week,” she said.
Ty said he’s happy to have worked with great people. “The people that have worked for us have been great. I mean some of the girls have been with us for over 25 years,” he said.
Ty and Deb Wood plan on spending their retirement visiting their grandchildren in Columbus and other family members in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
But they will miss their “second” family. “It’s been a good family unit here,” Ty Wood said.
