Ronni Willyard is the new owner of Myrt’s Route 66 Café, just south of Ford City in Bethel Township.
by David Croyle
A local business owner is expanding her interests to now include a restaurant.
Ronni Willyard, owner of the Pet Spa located on Main Street in Ford City, has purchased Myrt’s Café along Route 66 (near Alternate Route 66) in Bethel Township.
Willyard received the keys from former owner Mimi Carney last Monday. Carney purchased the restaurant from her mother, Georgejean and Bob Johns four years ago. The Johns family owned the business for more than 20 years, naming it after Mimi’s grandmother, Myrt.
Willyard said she worked for Myrt’s about 7 years ago and contemplated purchasing the restaurant back then, but then decided against it, opting to learn the pet grooming business instead.
“I always wished I had done it the first time. So when it became available again, I was excited and threw caution to the wind and said ‘what the heck’. So we are giving it a go.”
Willyard will continue to own the Pet Spa and have an employee manage the day-to-day business, as she starts the process of learning the restaurant business.
“I’ve owned my own business for five years so I have a pretty good idea of the whole business end of everything. My other business has been successful and has grown quite a bit in the last five years. They had a good business here at Myrts over the years. Mimi just chose that it was time to move on so I am hoping to come into this and help keep it growing and whatever I need to do to be successful in both places.”
Willyard isn’t in a hurry to change the menu or décor of the restaurant.
“Everything is going to remain the same. I have to come in and get a grasp on the whole process. Mimi did change a lot of stuff when she took over. So just re-acclimating myself to the restaurant process rather than the pet industry. I hope to upgrade to a POS (point-of-sale) system to get the process flowing as well as it can. We hope to right away do a survey for customers and get an idea of what they like, what they want changed, and see what we can do. I have some thoughts on other things we would like to do, but right now, I am learning what has and has not worked in the past. I don’t want to dive in and make changes without it being thought through and researched.”
Willyard is a local gal who lives only three miles on Grants Hollow in Bethel Township.
“I live right across the yard where I grew up. We moved there when I was two. We have a lot of family in the area. I remember coming to Myrts when I was a teenager. When I was 20 years old, friends and I would get together on weekends. On Sunday morning, we would come to Myrts to have breakfast after hanging out, so it has always been there. It was a real shame when we heard it was going to close.”
Staff has been retained such as Carol Held, who handles the kitchen. She has worked for all three owners over the past ten years. She said her favorite breakfast meal is Hunters Home Fries with sliced onions, peppers that are mixed with home fries and Myrt’s own blend of sausage.
The restaurant will be closed on Mondays, and be open Tuesday through Sunday from 5AM until 2PM.
Willyard said that breakfast draws the most customers.
“It gets a little slower at lunch time. It’s not like we are in an area where there is a lot of foot traffic where people are coming out of work for lunch. It’s a little bit of a drive to come here. But I am not opposed to looking at staying open for dinner time down the road, although (the last two owners) had tried it and said it didn’t work out.”
Willyard is optimistic that her restaurant purchase will be successful.
“I’m excited for this opportunity! I hope that I can keep people as satisfied as the previous owners have for the last 20+ years Myrt’s has been here,” she said.
The new owner of Myrt’s Café said she plans on keeping the diner atmosphere that includes tables, booths, and bar seating.