The “South Side Soda Shop” has had the same owners for 21 years. July 3, 2007. Reporter: Ryan Famuliner
A Goshen restaurant is about to make it’s debut on one of the food network’s most popular shows. It’s called “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.”
The South Side Soda Shop has been a fixture in Goshen for decades. Now, the owners are bracing themselves for changes that might come after their hometown, family diner hits the national airwaves. It’s that family feel that’s kept the south side soda shop running all these years — both financially...
“People would know you by name, and also know what you were gonna order,” said Todd Davis, a long-time customer at the soda shop. …And literally. Nick Boyd and his wife Charity own and run the soda shop – and both of their daughters work there too. “Growing up here, they know the customers, the products. If for some reason my wife or I couldn’t be here, it’d be in good hands,” said owner Nick Boyd.
But come next week, there might be something that threatens that family feel — flocks of food network viewers. “Mom called one of the other restaurants and they said their business increased 200%,” said Nicole Boyd, Nick’s daughter who also works at the diner. For the soda shop’s regular customers, that could mean an imposition on their usual hang-out.
“Customers are funny, they may even want to sit at their regular tables. And they may come in and they have to sit somewhere else or they have to wait for a table,” Nick Boyd said. But, that doesn’t mean the regulars are upset. “I mean, they’re happy for us. You know, the customers are like our family also. All this publicity is great, but they’re the ones that have kept us in business for 21 years,” Nick Boyd said.
And the family is ready to adapt to whatever comes their way. “As a family we’ve talked about what we’re going to need to do, and how we’re going to all really have to come together and be willing to stay until, you know, midnight if necessary to be able to make the food. So I mean, I think we’re excited, and there’s so many possibilities that could come out of this,” Nicole Boyd said.
There are a few last-minute jitters before the episode airs. “It’s kind of scary for me, that like a million people are going to be seeing my family on TV. But it’s also exciting at the same time because more people will come to, like, experience the wonderful food and atmosphere here,” said Hannah Boyd, Nick’s other daughter who works at the diner.
The owners say their staples are a family spaghetti recipe, their chili and their homemade Swedish limpa bread. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.
The episode of “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” featuring the south side soda shop is set to air Monday, July 9th, at 10:00 pm. The show was originally set to air last night, but it got pushed back to next week because of the 4th of July.
Next week’s episode is called “retro,” and the soda shop will be featured alongside a California burger joint, and a homestyle Oregon cafe. The owners say the producers of the show called them about the show, and at first they thought it was a practical joke. After a series of interviews, the soda shop was chosen to be on the show.
Valparaiso, Indiana’s 49’er Drive-In Theatre is located south of the city on SR 49. Check out their website at:
http://www.49erdrivein.com/
