VERY BAD NEWS FROM THE MAGIC CITY. Our member and good friend Ernie Judge just sent this. Its very sad. Milich’s Village Inn plans to close after nearly 60 years, leaving three Barberton chicken houses to carry on tradition. By Katie Byard Beacon Journal staff writer Christine Williams (left) co-manager of Milichs Village Inn comforts the restaurants cook of 35 years Becky Musser in the kitchen Friday in Norton. Musser is saddened that the Milich family announced this week that the restaurant, considered one of Barbertons famed chicken houses, will be closing by the end of the year unless someone buys the business. (Karen Schiely/Akron Beacon Journal) View More Photos >> It’s nearing the end of a big piece of the Barberton chicken dynasty. Milich’s Village Inn, one of four remaining iconic Barberton-area chicken houses, is set to close at the end of the year after 59 years of business. “The family made the decision, it’s time to retire a successful family business,” said Christine Milich Williams, the great-granddaughter of the founders, sitting at one of the plastic-topped tables in the large dining area of the Cleveland-Massillon Road restaurant. Milich’s is actually the new kid on the block, although it is nearly 60 years old. It opened after the other three establishments. All serve chicken fried in lard, along with rice and tomato “hot sauce” and a vinegar-based coleslaw, helping earn Barberton the designation “The Chicken Capital.” Williams’ eyes were watery Friday as she talked about the closing, a day after employees learned of the plan at a company meeting. Many of the employees have worked at the restaurant for more than 20 years. Williams has known many of the employees all of her life. “We don’t want to look at this as a negative thing. This restaurant has been an institution in Barberton for many years — nearly 60,” said Williams, 28. She co-manages the place with her husband, Blake Williams, and Ron Kern, who is a member of the family that founded one of the other chicken houses, White House Chicken. Milich’s is actually in Norton, just a few doors from the Barberton line. It will be the second to close of the five family-run businesses that linked Barberton with lard-fried chicken, a method brought to the area by Serbian immigrants. The Terrace Gardens, also in Norton, closed in 1997. Continuing on are Belgrade Gardens, which was the first to open (1933), Hopocan Gardens (1942) and White House Chicken (1950). At Milich’s, Williams plans to devote bulletin-board space for a celebration of the restaurant’s long life, encouraging customers to jot down their memories and hang pictures in the months before the Dec. 31 closing. Among the customers who will be sure to visit the place before it closes is John Menches, part owner of Menches Brothers Restaurant in Green. “My family, we go there all the time ... Wow. That’s quite the place. That’s a shame,” Menches said Friday after learning of the closing at the end of the year. “Next to our business, that’s where we love to go.” Menches recalled that the first time he went to the restaurant was about 1966; he was dating his wife, Mary, and his now in-laws took the couple. Now, he often takes his grandchildren. “It’s a comfortable place for us,” Menches said. “It was just a nice place. We knew all the people. I’m sorry to hear this.” Milich’s, with its large glass windows in front and cafeteria-style dining room, is far from fancy. Yet, it has been the site of weddings, baby showers, graduations and gatherings after funerals. Families have made it a tradition to eat there on Christmas Eve. So with such a loyal following, why close? Williams, the fourth generation to work in the family business, said she doesn’t want to make the restaurant her life’s work. She has a passion to go into teaching, and there are no other family members interested in taking up the restaurant mantle. Already, Williams, who began managing the restaurant in November 2007, has less and less time to devote to the place as the mother of three young children. She notes there have been times she’s put in 60-plus hours a week at the restaurant; that was after getting a degree in human resources from the University of Akron in 2009. Willliams’ husband, a restaurant co-manager, is busy with his full-time job as a machinist. On Friday, Ron Kern, the co-manager who is not part of the family, stood in the restaurant’s large, immaculate kitchen and said the operation is more complicated that it looks. “It’s quite an ordeal,” he said of all the cooking. For example, for the hot sauce, cook Becky Musser peels about 250 pounds of onions a week. She has worked at Milich’s for 35 years, and has one of the longest tenures among the restaurant’s more than 50 full- and part-time employees. “I can do it in my sleep,” Musser said of peeling the onions. The family is seeking to sell the property, listing it with commercial real estate company NAI Cummins of Akron. And it’s possible someone could buy the property to open a restaurant, Williams said, noting the large kitchen. But she said that her grandfather, the late Dale Milich — who ran the place for years — was insistent that the Milich’s name be taken off the restaurant once family members were no longer involved. Today, Williams’ 85-year-old grandmother, Vera Milich — Dale’s widow — is the business’ sole owner and was among the family members deciding to shut down. Dale Milich’s parents, Mirko and Katie Milich, founded the business along with their son, Rick, in 1955. Dale Milich came aboard in the early 1960s. He died in 2012. Williams acknowledges the region’s economic downturn has been tough on the restaurants and tastes have changed over the years. But she said the 440-seat restaurant fills up on weekends. “The family wants to thank everyone for all their years of patronage,” she said, noting that the family hopes “customers can come and share their memories before we close.” Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal. You can also become a fan on Facebook facebook/KatieByardABJ Click here to read or leave a comment on this story.
Posted on: Sat, 19 Jul 2014 12:37:20 +0000
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