UTICA, Ohio – Whipped cream, friendly smiles, and cherry red booths are just some of the guarantees that come along with a visit to Watts Family Restaurant.
With the tinkling of an old-fashioned bell that rings each time a customer opens the front door, they take a step back in time.
The wood paneling surrounds the mountains of whipped cream protected by a glistening refrigerated glass case with a sign that reads: “Fresh Cream Pies.”
Not much has changed in the restaurant since it was opened by Herbert Watts in 1912, and that includes its client loyalty.
Many of today’s customers have been coming to Watts since they were kids.
Andrew Weichart, the general manager of Watts for the last 10 years, considers Watts a mainstay for every age. “We can have four generations of the same family here at the same time,” he said.
Watts is now the sixth oldest restaurant in Ohio, according to the backs of its menus. The dining room at 77 S. Main St. is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays, and closed on Mondays. It welcomes new customers and old alike, and it’s clearly a community hub for regulars, retirees, and reunions.
One such group is the Utica High School class of 1956, which has its monthly reunion in the back dining room.
On Sundays, the busiest day of the week for this social hub of Utica, population 2,100, the dining rooms of Watts fill with the post-church crowd. They come in waves.
Among those waves, through the shouts of children and their respective adults, in the back left booth of the first dining room, next to the swinging door, you will find Connie McArtor and Rich Cocanour. The Regulars.
Ever since “Cheers” graced TV screens, the desire to go to a place where everyone knows your name cannot be denied. To be the one who breaks through the seemingly impenetrable barrier of frequent patrons to become The Regular is to become like family.
Connie, 63, and Rich, 82, have won that prize.
“They are about as regular as regular get,” said Sue Hall, of Mansfield, a waitress at Watts for six years.
Every day for the last three years, the dynamic duo have come to Watts at noonish, except Thursdays. The two who live a block from each other in Newark have been dining at Watts ever since Connie retired from her nursing job in 2021.
Why not Thursdays?
“Well,” said Connie, “our favorite waitress, Kathy, doesn’t work on Thursdays.”
Their weekly day off is because Watts is about far more than the food. Rich, even as an avid lover of the Wednesday potato soup, is not at Watts entirely for the food. It is about waitresses such as Kathy Higley, who makes a special point to bring out Rich’s food in stages, a necessary precaution for his health.
The environment at Watts, while enjoyable for all, is life-altering for people like Connie and Rich.
According to a study conducted in 2022, it was estimated that 28% of retirees experience depression, which is much higher than the average rate of 5.7% for adults over age 60. This is exacerbated by the fact that 24% of Americans 65+ are considered “socially isolated.”
Having social relationships has been clinically proven to positively impact mental and physical health. Social isolation and loneliness have been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, weakened immune systems, and depression.
The daily chats with the Watts wait staff and between old friends is not just enriching Connie and Rich’s lives, but it is also lengthening them.
When asked how long the two have been coming to Watts, waitress Briget Booth couldn’t pin it down. “I’ve been here eight years, so at least that long,” she said.
Connie and Rich, perhaps an unlikely pair of best friends, met almost 40 years ago at a nursing home where Connie worked and Rich came regularly to visit a friend.
The two come to Watts so frequently that their table is almost always set for them before they even enter the establishment. In that back booth, a Coke for Connie and a glass of water with no ice for Rich sit ready for them. On days like Sunday, when the restaurant is particularly hectic, Connie and Rich no longer wait for help.
“If they are real busy,” says Connie, “I’ll just pick up some menus and go sit down. They know it won’t make us mad if they are busy.”
Along with occasionally seating themselves, Connie and Rich do their part to keep up morale in the place.
Connie, armed with a purse full of sweets, is known as the Candy Lady. At least that’s what Rich calls her. For those who know to ask, Rich excitedly hands out candy sourced from Connie’s purse. In the bag, there is a special section full of sugar-free Werther’s caramels, a more recent addition.
They are for one of the longtime Watts waitresses who has diabetes. When Connie found out she was supplying a diabetic waitress with sugary candy, out of concern for her blood sugar, Connie added the sugar-free option to her offerings.
It’s just what they do.
Even as ownership of the restaurant has changed over time, the Watts legacy has been preserved. Current owners Doug and Beth Morgan have been, like many of the patrons, frequenters of the restaurants since they were kids. The past owner, Roger McCoy, still comes into the restaurant every Sunday with the crowds of church-goers.
The village of Utica takes up only about 2 square miles of rural Ohio, with farmland surrounding the town on every side. The main intersection hosts two gas stations and a general store called “Sugar and Spice Market.” And Watts proudly stands at the center of it all with its brown and gold sign as a beacon to visitors and locals alike.
It seems that once Watts is in your blood, it is almost impossible to shake.
With brick walls, wood paneling, old newspaper clippings and photos galore surrounding diners, it is hard not to feel at home.
Along with decadent pie, and a virtually endless menu, friendship has been a welcome addition to Connie and Rich’s tenure at the neighborhood mainstay. The pair have an impressive list of friends and acquaintances they have made from their time in that back booth. After friendships developed over the dividers between the booths, some other customers have had the privilege of joining the pair in their customary spot.
They built friendships in the restaurant that extended far beyond the walls of Watts. After many years of lunches with an older couple, Connie and Rich found themselves attending the woman’s funeral. It’s an unfortunate but telling reflection of the depth of their connections here.
The two run into middle-school teachers, long lost friends, and sometimes Connie’s aunt. And no matter the person, no matter their role, they know Connie and Rich.
Some would say the legacy of Watts lies within its legendary pies. And while Connie and Rich say they don’t regularly order those slices of sweet goodness, they know that the cream and fruit pies in a display case near the register are a big draw for many.
The true legacy of Watts is found in the kindness of busy waitresses and the enduring friendships made here.
Sarah Sollinger writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.