THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408020164
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On the town
TYPE: Restaurant Review
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
If you're looking for a chili and cheese omelette or corn beef hash and eggs at 3 a.m. and you're in the neighborhood of the Wedgewood Shopping Center on East Little Creek Road, try Big John's Restaurant.
Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week under new owners Loretta Weber and Bill Clevenger, Big John's is a true mom and pop operation, with Weber's son Kenny, 21, cooking and her daughter Shawna, 16, waiting tables. Even her brother, Bill Ranhorn, my boss back in 1968 at the King's Head Inn, is helping out in the kitchen.
It seems fitting the little 54-seat eatery should be family-run, for that was certainly the style under the former owners, Roy and Edna Welch, who had the place for 21 years. Their son, Gary, often helped out between theatrical productions.
``We took over June 23, and we kept all of Edna's recipes,'' Weber said. ``Edna stayed on for a while to introduce us to customers, and we kept both day and night cooks.''
One major change was to open 24 hours a day, Clevenger said. ``We've extended the dinner menu by adding fresh steaks and more seafood,'' he added.
Clevenger learned to cook while serving in the Marines from 1964 to '68, including a tour in Vietnam. He owned a restaurant in Ohio, and worked as a chef and caterer for a dozen years there and in California before coming east to work in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Now Clevenger is back in the food business in a big way, working both day and night shifts, seven days a week. The day I interviewed him he was to have his first night off in five weeks. ``Kicked out of my own restaurant by my cook,'' he said.
Loretta Weber, a Norfolk native, who spent 26 years with the phone company, admits restaurant work is new to her. Clevenger says her job, bookkeeping and greeting customers, is the most important job in the company. ``I really believe if we don't treat our customers right, somebody else will,'' he said.
As for the new menu, which should be in effect by the time you read this, additions include dinner items such as a pair of grilled pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and dinner rolls ($4.75); grilled liver and onions in gravy with a choice of mashed potatoes or fries ($3.95); and a fried seafood platter of shrimp, scallops, oysters, crab cake and a fish fillet ($9.95, with hush puppies).
Clevenger is most proud of his new steak items, which include a 10-ounce porterhouse or sirloin with baked potato or fries, salad and rolls ($9.95), and a 16-ounce T-bone ($14.95).
Lunch includes 4-oz. ($2.35) or 6- oz. ($3.35) cheeseburgers, meat loaf ($2.95) or barbecue sandwiches ($2.35), served with chips. Sandwich platters, served with fries and coleslaw, include a pork barbecue ($3.65), a 4 oz. steak sandwich ($3.95), and a Reuben ($4.95), as well as a tuna melt platter ($3.65).
As for breakfast, which is served 24 hours a day, pancakes range from $1.75 for a stack of silver dollars, to $4.25 for chocolate chip and pecan. The chili and cheese omelette is $3.95, as is the Western, Spanish, and ham or bacon and cheese, and all come with toast or pancakes. A 6-oz. steak and two eggs is $6.95, while country sausage and two eggs will cost $4.95 (both are served with hash browns or grits, toast or pancakes). A side of corn beef hash is $2.20. A bowl of cereal and a banana is $1.45.
Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., then dinner until 11 p.m. ``But if somebody comes in at 3 a.m. and wants dinner and I'm not jammed, they'll get it,'' Clevenger said. ``There's a need for a place with a nice family atmosphere for people who work late or party late to come in and eat,'' he said. ``That's what we're striving for.'' ILLUSTRATION: AT A GLANCE
What: Big John's Restaurant: 1827 E. Little Creek Road,
588-0610.
Food: American food; breakfast 24 hours; no ABC at present.
Prices: weekday lunch specials $3.95; dinner entrees $3.95 to
$14.95, mostly in $6 range.
Hours: 24 hours, seven days a week.
by CNB