For the first time in nearly a century, Stow is without an Isaly’s restaurant – but that might change in the future.
Since 1929, the chain has had a location in various spots at the corner of state routes 59 and 91 in Summit County. On Christmas Eve, current owner Ed Fox retired, shuttering the breakfast and lunch spot for the time being. His sister, Angie Larkin, is a server at Isaly’s. She said their final morning was memorable.
“The parking lot was full of people before we even opened the door,” she said. “We open at 7:30, and I’d say a little after 8, we were already an hour and a half behind on the food.”
Isaly’s current lease ends in February, and Larkin said they’re in ongoing talks with a potential buyer.
Any purchase would include the vintage pieces inside, including the sign from the previous Isaly’s that stood next door until the 1990s. The current Stow Isaly’s, technically dubbed Isaly’s II in deference to the original spot, opened in 1998. Larkin said it's the last remnant of the chain of diners, delis and dairies in its home state.
The company was started in 1833 in Monroe County by Swiss cheesemaker, Christian Isaly. The chain grew to 300 locations that once stretched throughout the Midwest and introduced items like chipped-chopped ham and the Klondike Bar. There is at least one other Isaly’s restaurant in the Pittsburgh area, where the chain thrived for decades after it began closing facilities in Ohio in the 1960s.
