Eats, Where Everybody Knows Your Name

“Take it easy, George,” the customer says as exits the restaurant.

“Hey Stevie, I’ll see ya,” the man behind the counter replies as he opens the register to make change for another customer.

The man, George Mihailides, has to count out the cash, since he specifically doesn’t have a register that tells you how much change to make. He thinks it’s important for he and the employees to do the math in their head just like the good old days.

In fact, at Mihailides’ Route 6 restaurant , many things hark back to the good old days. Like the vintage hot dog sign outside, the word of mouth advertising, the long time employees (some of whom are family members), the food made from scratch and, most noticeably, the sense of camaraderie between customers and employees.

Mihailides opened Eats in the early 80’s at the age of 23. He had recently graduated from the University of Rhode Island, and though he’d had some big job offers, he wanted to try his hand at his own business. He’d already cut his chops at his father’s New York System restaurant and was now armed with a business degree.

“I said let me go for it. I took a chance. I had to beg, borrow and steal from everyone. I put everything I had into it,” says Mihailides.

Mihailides wanted to re-envision the classic wiener joint and offer up some healthier fare alongside the rest. He created a menu with soup, salad and sandwiches in addition to hot dogs. For the first year and a half he worked from open to close seven days a week. When he got married to his college sweetheart, he closed the restaurant for the first time on a Sunday. From then on out, the business would remain closed Sundays.

Mihailides’ wife, Diane, is an integral part of Eats, working several days a week on site as well as doing bookkeeping and other administrative work behind the scenes. Mihailides’ brother Peter is one of the chefs, and his 83-year-old mother helps clear dishes on busy days.

Barrington resident Kathy Henry has been coming to the restaurant for more than 20 years. She gets the organic salad with walnuts, cranberries and feta topped with marinated chicken, a house favorite. If she comes on a Friday she might go for the fish-n-chips, but only in moderation.

Henry says the Mihailides’ are a generous family, always willing to help people out. She points to a poster on the wall for an ALS fundraiser.

“I think they do more good here than you can ever imagine,” she says. “It’s a very people-centered business.”