Looking back at Smitty’s, and to the future

To the Editor:

The following is a message I wrote for customers, friends, and employees of Smith’s Tavern as it closes:

On a very personal note:

As John Mellen and I bring to an end a most unforgettable era at Smith’s Tavern, I say with complete satisfaction — aah!

The camaraderie … the “tavernality,” all of it — so many rewarding moments over our 26-year stay, lasting memories for us, our wives, Mary Ann and Loretta, and our families, as well.

To all of you who have supported us and shared in our good fortune of having been able to carry on for the beloved Smith family — Lil, Frank Sr., Gert, Frank Jr. — we will be forever thankful.

We would like also to especially thank the many hundreds of caring and devoted employees along the way. You were the reason for our successes and satisfied customers. You prepared the meals, you served with a smile, and you “kept ’em coming back.”

In what has been an overwhelming last couple of weeks, it has been incredibly great hearing remembrances from so many people — some stories going all the way back, 72 years, to the very beginning of Smith’s Tavern.

It’s been a great chapter, so now on with the new. Thanks, and cheers to all!

Jon D. McClelland, co-owner

Smith’s Tavern

 


Corrected on June 5, 2017: A letter to the editor in the June 1 Enterprise misspelled a word that Smith’s Tavern co-owner Jon D. McClelland used to describe the establishment. The correct spelling of the word was “tavernality."

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