RICHMOND, Va. — Digging through the WTVR CBS 6 video archives for some vintage Richmond clips, I came upon a 1997 morning news segment in which anchors Cheryl Miller and Scott Light tossed to reporter Chris O'Connell sitting at the beloved Richmond restaurant John and Norman's.
John and Norman's served hungry Richmonders from the 1950s to 1999 at 2525 Hanover Avenue, in what is now Curbside Cafe.
The restaurant was a Richmond institution, according to lifelong Richmond resident Charlie Diradour.
"John and Norman’s was a place where neighbors felt comfortable getting breakfast while others got pony Miller High Life's," Diradour said. "Great stories were told loudly [there] and may have been embellished. The brothers [John and Norman] took care to have good food at a fair price and the waitresses, even though they knew what you always ordered, they always asked with a pen at the ready and an order book cocked and locked."
In the televised segment O'Connell interviewed an employee behind the counter named Lucille before he moved over to booth to speak with restaurant owner John Simon.
"We have hot cakes. We have bacon eggs. We have country ham. We have salt herring. We have any type of breakfast that you want," Simon said when asked what was good to eat. "Biscuits are made fresh every morning."
He said his secret to success was serving good food, providing good service, and forming bonds with the customers.
"We know practically all of them by name," he said.
After watching the story, I researched the restaurant and came across a year-old post on the RICHMOND COUNTERCULTURE Facebook page.
"Any memories or photos by chance of John and Norman's Restaurant?" the post read.
Nikki Creel, John Simon's granddaughter wrote the post.
I was happy to let her know I found the vintage clip featuring her grandfather.
"Oh my God. I don't think I've seen this," she said. "Wow! He loved his restaurant and his patrons."
She said seeing her grandfather, who passed away in 2009, made her day.
"That means a whole lot," she said. "He was such a humble guy. I have a little happy tear."
Now 41, Creel remembered visiting the restaurant as a child.
"My twin brother, my older brother, [and I] loved eating there. My brother was very proud to get a John and Norman's club sandwich and bring to lunch in high school at Godwin," she said. "A surreal experience for me going there as a kid and then in college, I went to VCU, going again when it was Curbside."
A 1993 Richmond Times-Dispatch article on the Fan restaurant called it relaxed and a place where "patrons come to unwind as much as to get a meal."
In 1993 the breakfast special (two eggs with sausage or bacon, and a side of hashed browns, biscuits or grits) cost $2.95, according to the article. It cost $4.75 if you want to add three pancakes.
You can find dozens of vintage Richmond clips on the WTVR CBS 6 News YouTube page.
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