NILES Lunch counter inside pharmacy closes forever

The owner wants to sell everything as a unit, rather than piece by piece.
THE VINDICATOR, YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Duct tape and a handwritten sign reading "Lunch counter closed" block off the area just left of the entrance to Kuszmaul's Pharmacy on South Main Street.
For eight years, the retro-style counter was a hangout for regulars who could get everything from a good cup of coffee to a sandwich and french fries to an old-fashioned ice cream sundae.
But now, the tables and chairs are gone, and no one sits at the 10 stools lining the counter decorated with aluminum flashing.
Owner and pharmacist Gary Kuszmaul said the counter closed about six weeks ago after the woman who operated it for years, Corrine DeCesare, left to go to college.
"We tried, but we couldn't find anyone who wanted to be a cook, waitress, busboy, janitor, dishwasher and more," he said. "It's definitely a hard job that we've asked them to do."
What he plans
Kuszmaul said the lunch counter has been a break-even venture for the pharmacy for the past few years, and since he's found no one willing to run it, he plans to sell it, probably on the online auction service eBay.
"We want to sell it as a unit, instead of just piecing it out," he said.
The area includes everything from the seating, counter, and food preparation and storage equipment to dishes, glasses, silverware, a replica of an old-fashioned soda fountain and syrup dispensers.
He added some people already have expressed interest in buying the counter and relocating it.
"There's a lady in Pennsylvania who came in and looked at it and is interested in moving it to a high school as part of their vocational education," he said. The students already operate a small store, he said, and are interested in running the diner-style restaurant as part of their training.
Another man in Georgia also is interested in moving the equipment there, and a Pennsylvania man, Gene Reese, who designed the local counter for Kuszmaul's, also may be able to find a buyer for it.
Kuszmaul said the counter was wildly popular the first few years it opened, with the pharmacy even sponsoring car cruises to capitalize on the counter's 1950s feel. While business has tapered off some since then, Kuszmaul was still a little reluctant to close it for good.
"It was not a decision we even wanted to think about," he said. "We really had a lot of fun with it."
slshaulis@vindy.com