Business began to boom. People come to Chet's for good ole home cooking. John Hartman says, "It's always been a great place for breakfast and lunch too. It's like homemade food. They do it right and they remember you."
Owner Richard Lawrence says in 2008 things changed. That's when he was shot. He recovered, but couldn't handle the work. Lawrence hired people to do jobs he once did. Richard Lawrence says, "I did most of the day cooking, that hurt. That hurt. With the smoking ban, that hurt us. I never realized how bad it hurt us. I thought we'd overcome it, but we never did."
During President Obama's visit to Toledo last week, he gave credit to auto bailouts, specifically Chrysler for saving small businesses locally. President Obama said, "This plant indirectly supports hundreds of other jobs right here in Toledo. After all, without you, who'd eat at Chet's, or Inky's, or Rudy's?"
But the Lawrences say it was too late. "When they were going full blast, it was wonderful, but when they opened, closed, and closed the shifts, it never came back. We used to deliver $500 a week in food, now $100."
And even though the Lawrences appreciate attention from the president, it's not enough to keep chet's open. "It's going to be tough because I'm going to miss the people. I'll do a lot of cooking at home."
New Chet's closes on Sunday. The Lawrences say they'll spend more time with their six children and nine grandchildren with their time off.
