"Victory" gets a much-needed win

Tiffany Cuddihy | Citizens Staff

Johnny's Victory Diner one of 134 recipients of $15,000 grant from Citizens' Small Business Recovery Program

At a little roadside barbeque stand in rural New Hampshire, John Hanaway found more than just a perfectly smoked meal; he found a new career path. The owner of the stand was a man from Texas who specialized in authentic southern barbeque like brisket, ribs, and burnt ends. Hanaway, who lived right up the road at the time, often chatted with the man about his barbeque techniques. Eventually, these conversations turned into lessons.

"I was so inspired by him that I ended up buying my own $300 smoker, and it quickly turned into a passion," shares Hanaway. "We would have people over our house and they would rave about my barbeque."

That was more than fifteen years ago. Today, John — along with his wife Rhonda and their two adult sons Ryan and Brendan — owns Johnny's Victory Diner in Burrillville, Rhode Island. The 90-year old diner had several owners before the Hanaways bought it two years ago. It's had several names throughout the decades, but the "Victory" part always seems to stick around. Perhaps it's a nostalgic nod to each previous owner.

It's the kind of diner that feels familiar even if it's your first time being there. There's wood paneling on the walls, checkerboard flooring, cozy booths, and a long counter set up with round red stools, condiment stations, and paper placemats. In most ways, this diner is as traditional as they come. However, there's one thing that sets it apart: seriously delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, fall-off-the-bone barbeque.

Before opening the diner back in 2018, John tried his hand at running his own roadside stand. He started out in front of an ice cream shop. Once word got out about his barbeque, they were soon offered premium real estate outside a local bar.

"We ended up doing so well outside of the bar that the owner asked us to extend our hours," John says. "We ended up going through 600 to 700 pounds of meat in a weekend in that spot."

John has spent years perfecting his own barbequing techniques. He took classes at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and even studied under celebrity barbeque chef Myron Mixon at the pitmaster's home in Georgia. With the success of their roadside stand, John felt ready to open a permanent location to spotlight his own pitmaster skills. When the diner became available, the family jumped on the opportunity to take it over and add smoky, southern barbeque to the menu.

"We figured if the barbeque didn’t work out, we'd have the diner to fall back on since it already had such an established following," shares John.

Johnny's feeds hungry customers 363 days a year, closing only for Thanksgiving and Christmas. They serve big breakfasts at the crack of dawn and hearty dishes at the end of the day, every day. That was, until recently, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and any sense of normalcy at the diner went up in smoke.


_{The menu at Johnny's Victory Diner features smoky, southern barbeque.}

Closed door, open kitchen

As a small business, the loss of foot traffic has been devastating for Johnny's Victory Diner. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, they were struggling to keep the diner open for takeout and curbside orders on a limited-time basis. They had to lay off employees, though some have chosen to stay on as volunteers. Instead, the Hanaways had to rely on their sons to help for the six hours they were able to keep the kitchen open each week. Even with business hours drastically reduced, the family was still working around the clock. They were feverishly trying to adapt to a new way of running the diner so their "temporarily closed" sign wouldn't become a permanent one.

Unfortunately, the Hanaways' story is all too familiar right now. According to The James Beard Foundation, on average, restaurants have laid off 91% of their hourly workforce and nearly 70% of their salaried employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It’s not only the loss of customers and employees that’s caused the family to be in such a difficult position. It's also the loss of supplies and food. Luckily, the Hanaways were able to donate much of their unusable resources to neighbors, schools, and community organizations.

Giving back to the community is nothing new to the Hanaway family. Rhonda has a background in nonprofit work and is currently a career advisor at a nearby high school, and she's always encouraging her husband and sons to find ways to support those in need. From raising money for a local substance abuse program to supporting the Burrillville animal shelter and various other organizations in town, they're always there for their neighbors.

In fact, during the diner’s darkest days in recent months, they still gave away free eggs, toast, and pancakes to children whose families were struggling to get food on the table due to the current crisis.

"We love our community," John says, "so we were more than happy to help support them right now as they've always helped support us."

The Hanaways' philanthropy, determination, and commitment to their community are just a few of the reasons Johnny's Victory Diner was one of 134 recipients of a $15,000 grant through Citizens' Small Business Recovery Program. Citizens has distributed $5 million to help small businesses and organizations cope with the devastating affects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a collective $2 million in grants to local businesses like Johnny's Victory Diner to help pay for expenses like staffing needs, lost income, and recovery efforts.

A shot at the grant

Rhonda was the one who applied for the grant. After coming down with COVID-19 symptoms, she self-isolated from her family as a precaution — which broke her heart since she wasn't able to assist with the diner at the beginning of the crisis. During that time, as she waited for her COVID-19 test result, she was desperate to find creative ways to support her family business, even though she couldn't physically do any of the work. She came across the Citizens Small Business Recovery Program and decided to apply for the grant. Her COVID-19 test result ended up coming back negative, and Rhonda hasn't left her family's side since.

"I wasn't sure how our diner was going to survive and if the community would support us through the pandemic," shares Rhonda. "I was used to writing grants as part of my nonprofit job, so I thought I'd take a shot."

The Hanaways are a big hockey family, so when Rhonda found out that they were selected for the grant, she was quick to quote hockey great Wayne Gretzky: "You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take."

"We are just so grateful."

As social distancing mandates start to ease up in Rhode Island, more businesses are getting the green light to reopen with new safety and health guidelines. While it was touch and go for a while, it seems like Johnny's Victory Diner has finally found its groove in this strange new world. Curbside pickup has been doing so well for the business that they plan on keeping it going long term. Even their online ordering method is working to bring in new customers.

"Due to the pandemic, we started taking online orders for the first time and we're gaining a younger customer base from it," says John. "Thirty percent of our orders are now being done online, so it's been very successful."

With the cancelation of weddings, graduations, and family gatherings due to the virus, their normally busy catering business was quieter than a mouth full of brisket. However, even that sector of their business is starting to pick back up now that the state has begun to allow businesses to reopen.

All of this renewed optimism in the diner's future brings hope to the Hanaway family, their customers, and their incredible employees.

The Hanaways plan to use their $15,000 Citizens grant to take on some big projects at their small town diner. Once bills are paid, they plan on renovating parts of the aging diner that are in disrepair, starting with their walk-in fridge that has a finicky, 40-year-old system. They also have a carpenter building a 12' x 20' wood frame smoker port to house John's smoker, so he no longer has to stand under a tent outside to prepare his beloved barbeque. To accommodate for social distancing, some of the grant money will be going toward a new side entrance to the diner, so an outdoor eating area is easily accessible to the wait staff.

"So much is changing," Rhonda says, "but we're making every effort to change with it."



_{A portion of the $15,000 grant will go toward a new side entrance to the diner to help staff access an outdoor eating area.}

Before the sign on their diner door can officially read "open" again, the Hanaways decided to bring on an expert to help ensure that their establishment is meeting all of the new health and safety standards before customers step back in. All menus will be single use, silverware will be wrapped in a napkin, and surfaces will be wiped down after every meal.

For nine decades, the Victory Diner has stood through some of the most trying times in our country's history. It's a landmark that was built to withstand, and it continues to show no signs of backing down, even to COVID-19.

It's easy to look back longingly at life before the pandemic, but Johnny's Victory Diner is proof that exciting new opportunities are still waiting down the road.

A "victory" is still possible.

We're made ready to help small businesses

Check out all the ways Citizens is supporting local businesses and our communities during the pandemic.