GALION- Galion residents have come to know Whistle Stop Café for their home-cooked food and reasonable prices.
A vacant building recently as a decade ago, it’s now been owned for nearly eight years by Charlotte Larson.
Larson was born in Kentucky, but raised locally, graduating from Galion High School in the 1970s.
She’s since traveled, and with over a half-century’s experience in the restaurant industry, has run food trucks and successful establishments in places like Oklahoma, Texas, and most recently a long run in Las Vegas.
Larson, who created the current menu, says fried green tomatoes, pies, and the Reuben sandwich are among Whistle Stop’s most popular items. Daily specials are listed on a large white board upon entry.
“Anything possible, we make from scratch,” she said.
The Uptowne café adorned with movie posters has even enjoyed celebrity visits from television shows and movie sets.
What’s perhaps most impressive is the Whistle Stop retains its same dozen employees since 2015.
“We treat people well, and I don’t ask them to do anything I would not do,” Larson explained. “We work together.”
This was apparent by Larson working in the kitchen when the Inquirer arrived and immediately after the interview concluded.
Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down so many restaurants across America did not have a major effect on the Whistle Stop.
Larson’s husband, Ken, built clear dividers between tables, and they temporarily specialized in take out, until the phased reopening was permitted in mid 2020.
Larson is also proud of her restaurant’s charitable endeavors within Galion and surrounding communities. They have helped with homeless shelters, animal shelters, at food pantries, and elsewhere. She says she simply likes to give.
They also do catering, especially for class reunions, weddings, and nearby establishments like St. Joseph Catholic Church and the Elks Lodge.
The Whistle Stop’s current hours are Saturday to Thursday 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Fridays, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Their busiest days are usually on the weekend.
Whistle Stop Café sits conveniently at 241 Harding Way East, not far from the historic Big Four Depot.
