BOARDMAN -- Jay and Pam Guidos have tried several ideas and have done many small things well, and

BOARDMAN -- Jay and Pam Guidos have tried several ideas and have done many small things well, and that combination has helped them serve up a successful restaurant.
Their success with What's Cook'N has come despite their lack of restaurant experience before they opened the South Avenue eatery in 1995.
They became interested in opening a restaurant because Jay Guidos' mother, Alice, and his aunt owned the former Plaza Pantry restaurant in Struthers.
"My mom and aunt knew a lot about the [restaurant] business, and we decided to try it out," Jay Guidos said.
His mother shared her knowledge and helped the couple get started.
To buy kitchen and other equipment, they used money Jay Guidos received from the pension fund of Geneva Liberty Steel in Youngstown, where he had worked previously. He also learned to become a cook, while his wife learned to work as a server.
Pam Guidos had been a homemaker, helping to raise their two daughters.
"They were in school when we got the restaurant, so I was going to go to work regardless," she said.
The couple said they strived to create a family-like atmosphere at their restaurant and after a few years, they noticed that business was improving. Business has increased annually, they said.
Many regular customers have gotten to know the restaurant's employees, Pam Guidos said.
"It's like family when they come in and that's how we treat them," she said. "We're on a first-name basis and we all become friends."
The restaurant acts as a gathering place for numerous retiree and other regular large and small groups that come weekly or monthly, including several retired LTV Steel workers who meet the third Thursday of each month. What's Cook'N also plays host to several card groups that meet most afternoons.
Besides serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the business accommodates various special requests, such as a 30-member family reunion committee that meets several times a year. What's Cook'N also offers occasional after-hours banquets the Guidoses prepare for baby showers, weddings, birthday parties and other special occasions.
In addition to his normal kitchen work, Jay Guidos prepares made-to-order kolache during the Christmas season and Easter.
"We'll try new ideas," he said. "If it works, it works. If not, we learn from it. As time goes on, we're trying to expand."