旅途中計劃外的驚喜是可遇不可求的，幸運地，Grumpy’s就被我們碰上了！那是在參觀完Glass Pavilion之後，忍不住想到Toledo Libbey Factory Outlet買紀念品時，因錯過路口，要繞道回去時，眼尖看到如此特別的"open" sign：
怎麼有人開店不是用笑臉？
再一抬頭，不得了，店名竟取"Grumpy’s"，那可是我最喜歡的卡通人物 – 七個小矮人 – 中的一員！這會兒誰還管玻璃的事，無論如何也得進去瞧瞧。
Grumpy’s is a family affair. Sisters Sara Bauman and Jennifer Shemak run it with Dustin Hostetler, who is their nephew. They took over the business a year and a half ago from Jeff and the late Connie Horn—the sisters’ parents and Dustin’s grandparents—who first began selling food in a corner of their hardware store in the 1984. The food quickly became the focus, and the hardware store fell to the wayside, though its sign is still prominently displayed in the restaurant. (http://www.toledoblade.com/)
p.s. Jeff Horn, otherwise known as “Grumpy,” has operated the restaurant for twenty some years. He earned the nickname working for his family’s hardware store. Apparently his lack of passion for nuts and bolts left him a bit irritable.
An old tin sign from the “mother ship"— the Henry F. Horn Hardware"mother ship," the Henry F. Horn Hardware
The building that houses Grumpy’s (in the Toledo Warehouse District) is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.
Appropriate to its location, Grumpy’s has a typical “warehouse" look and feel – brushed brick walls hung with framed artwork, exposed pipes, polished wood floors, and low-hanging lights.
The upstairs area has some additional seating and an open kitchen for patrons who enjoy spying on the preparation of their food. This space has been jazzed up with a piece by experimental local artist Mr. Atomic, an angel that boasts the phrase “From Jennifer’s oven … to God’s lips.” It’s a tribute to Jennifer Shemak, Horn’s stepdaughter.
Grumpy’s is busy from open to close and always has an awesome busy vibe. It took about a half hour for us to get only the bar seats and another 25 minutes to get the food. Despite the name of the restaurant, the chef was rather pleasant and told us the light fixtures hanging in front of the kitchen were made by a local artist.
p.s. Grumpy’s hours are a little restrictive; it is only open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., on weekdays. The owners chose these hours so they can concentrate on catering nights and weekends.
Grumpy’s serves eclectic cuisine including soups, salads and sandwiches.
Their garbage salad is probably the most well know item on their menu—it’s mixed lettuce greens, cheeses (provolone, mozzarella, feta and Parmesan), tomatoes, onions mushrooms, raisins, grilled chicken, bacon bits, croutons, and pita chips—tossed together with poppyseed dressing. It’s like a carnival of different tastes and textures.
p.s. The poppyseed dressing was a star almost from the moment it was introduced. The dressing is “a perfect balance of sweet and salty, and it coats things wonderfully," Mr. Hostetler said. It is so popular that customers have been asking for it for years. After some experimentation the restaurant began selling the bottled dressing from behind the cash register.
There’s also an arm-long list of homemade pies.
Legend has it that if you work in Toledo Downtown and you are “mean enough” to not invite a co-worker to Grumpy’s with you, you had better at least bring back one of Grumpy’s moist homemade cookies for them. Although we’re only tourists here, we couldn’t resist buying one of each kind to go.
If you are in downtown Toledo and are looking for the go to lunch spot… this is it. And if you are lucky enough, you might be able to get this table by the “grump open sign".
Grumpy’s 地址：34 S Huron St, Toledo, OH 43604 電話：(419) 241-6728 網址：Website: www.grumpys.net
p.s. Grumpy is one of the seven dwarfs in Disney’s 1937 film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. (http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Disney_Wiki)
All time favorite scene: Grumpy (middle) and the dwarfs (Doc, Dopey, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful) finding Snow White.
And all time favorite song that I used to watch with my son every day: Heigh-ho!
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