Fred
When Butch and Mary Ann Wainscott purchased the famed Greyhound Grill in Fort Mitchell 30 years ago, they certainly knew what they were getting into.
“It is a gathering place for the community,” says their son, Gabe Wainscott, the general manager, “and a landmark in northern Kentucky.”
The Wainscotts may be celebrating their 30th year as owners, but The Greyhound, as everyone calls it, has been a city mainstay for as long as anyone can remember.
The business got its start in 1921. Back then, the streetcar system, which ran from Cincinnati to the suburbs, turned around right at the intersection of Dixie Highway and Orphanage Road. This spot, locally known as the End-Of-The-Line, is where all riders heading farther south had to get off. Entrepreneur Johnny Hauer opened the Dixie Tea Room, named after the highway, selling ice cream and treats for the readily available clientele disembarking the streetcar.
The establishment changed hands in the 1930s, when Al Frisch purchased the building and turned it into a restaurant. He decided to name his new business in honor of his brother, Benny, who trained and raced dogs in Florida. Thus, the name changed to the Greyhound Grill.
There were a few other ownership changes over the years, but the Wainscotts, who had no restaurant experience at the time, bought it with the vision of expanding what was already a good thing.
“My mom tells people that Greyhound is a refuge from the knocks and blows from the outside,” says daughter Meggie Wainscott Martin, who handles sales and marketing.
This is apparent from the fierce loyalty of customers and from the many employees who have worked there for more than 20 years—something almost unheard-of in the restaurant industry. The establishment’s longest tenured employee is Linda Beach, a kitchen manager with more than 32 years at the Greyhound.
Gabe and Meggie agree that Beach is not replaceable, and Meggie laughs when she says, “Linda came with the building when our parents purchased it.”
When the Wainscotts took the helm, they made some changes to the menu and the interior, upping the ambiance a notch, taking the Greyhound from a Grill to a Tavern.
The inviting white building, with its pillared front porch and black shutter trim, is the perfect blend of Southern and Northern architecture. Inside, diners find a warm and homey feel in each of the dining rooms, whether it is the front Tavern Room, decorated with classic horse racing photos and even a mounted wild boar’s head, or the more refined Williamsburg Room, with touches of Colonial-inspired furnishings. Throughout the 230-seat restaurant, diners are treated to Greyhound dog accents, subtly blended with nods to the building’s history, the Bluegrass State and, of course, bourbon.
“We always have bourbon slush on the menu,” Gabe says. “It is my grandmother Marian Hellmann’s recipe. She passed away at 104 years old and always kept a batch in her freezer, just in case company came by. We think it might have been the key to her long life.”
Gabe considers the menu to be traditional American fare. Some favorites that are always on offer are steaks, pork chops and cod. On Mondays and Tuesdays, regulars pack the house for the restaurant’s award-winning fried chicken dinner, served family style, where diners pass around their table bowls of creamy mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans and coleslaw for a meal just like Mom used to make, only better.
The menu also includes salads, pastas, burgers and sandwiches, but since the tavern is in northern Kentucky, there is a hint of German and Southern in the recipes, too.
“We have added the goetta egg roll appetizer and the pimento cheese BLT sandwich, and they are both very popular,” Gabe says.
Age-old favorites are the Louisville-inspired Hot Brown, massive crunchy onion rings and sweet-and-sour hot slaw, made with shredded cabbage and crispy bacon chunks. And don’t forget the bread pudding for dessert.
“We could never take those off the menu,” Gabe says.
But the Wainscotts know they must evolve with the times. They recently added an outdoor covered patio dining space, complete with a magnificent stone fireplace, a perfect touch for cooler evenings.
Gabe says that, although the competition is fierce, they plan to stick to their values and offer consistent menu items and service because that’s what keeps people coming back. And come back they do. He says that sometimes it is hard to seat people—not because the restaurant doesn’t have seats available, but because it takes a while to get the diners to their table as they stop and say hello to seated friends along the way.
He relays that information with a grin, knowing that the history and ambiance of the Greyhound is not something that can be replicated. It is something that gets preserved.
Butch and Mary Ann have seven children; of them, Gabe, Meggie and brother Danny, who manages the kitchen, run the restaurant. The three siblings say each has worked there in different capacities throughout the years.
They are proud of their family-run business, but they are always focused on their diners.
“Our goal is for our guests to experience true Southern hospitality with every visit,” Meggie says.
Meredith Calle