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Starz Cafe reopens in Port Richey

Klint Lowry/SUNCOAST

Same name, same menu – with a few additions – and new location. Starz Cafe owner Diane Palmer is hoping new customers will join the loyal customers who have followed her restaurant's move from Little Road to U.S. 19.

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By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: July 17, 2009

Updated:

PORT RICHEY - It's not the sort of thing you see every day - not these days anyway.

At a time when even major chain restaurants are struggling to survive a diner has opened along U.S. 19 near Grand Boulevard. To some passersby, it might seem like a mirage. To others, it's a sight for sore eyes, the return of a favorite stop for comfort food.

When Starz Cafe opened its doors about three weeks ago at 7923 U.S. 19, it had a distinct advantage: an established reputation. While it might be new to those who do all their morning driving on U.S. 19, the restaurant has been a favorite breakfast stop for Little Road commuters, enough of a favorite that many don't mind making a detour.

"We have loyal customers," said Diane Palmer, owner of Starz Cafe. "They were coming by every day seeing when we were going to be open."

The two-week relocation Palmer anticipated stretched to two months. But now that Palmer and daughter Lynne Frederickson have their place up and running at the new location, they are hoping a whole new batch of customers will join their ranks of regulars for breakfast, lunch and early bird dinner customers.

Both Palmer and Frederickson had experience as local restaurateurs when they decided eight years ago to start a new restaurant from scratch. The name Starz Cafe came from the diner's motif, based largely on Frederickson's collection of autographed photos of old movie stars, along with life-size cutouts of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley and other elements to give their place a '50s rock 'n' roll feel.

They have no affiliation with the restaurant called Starz in the Holiday area, the women stressed.

Unlike large chain restaurants that take their themes to amusement park levels of slickness, Starz' Hollywood motif has a down-home, comfortable feel to it. That philosophy continues where it counts - on the menu.

Starz opens at 7 a.m. every day, and closes at 4 p.m. every day except Friday, when it stays open until 8 p.m. for the weekly fish and ribs special.

The menu offers page after page of diner-type favorites, with names that continue the Hollywood theme. Entrees include the John Wayne country fried steak, the Herman Munster meatloaf and the Humphrey Bogart liver and onions.

Ordering a "Moe," Larry" or "Curly" indicates whether you want your breakfast platter to come with pancakes, French toast or waffles.

Especially for a place that depends so much on its breakfast business, Palmer said, being fancy is not nearly as important as being good.

"We take time," Palmer said. "We are very fussy about our food."

Some people can be very particular about how they like their eggs, Palmer said - adding with a smile that she's one of those people, which is why she appreciates how rare and valuable it is for a restaurant to be able to consistently deliver eggs to order.

Another aspect of the menu that customers find pleasingly nostalgic is its prices. The most expensive items are a pair of $7.95 shrimp entrees. As a way to get acquainted with the new neighborhood, they are offering 99-cent breakfast specials.

Some restaurants are raising prices to make ends meet, Palmer said, which to her doesn't make sense. "There are a lot of people who like to go out to eat, who can't afford it these days," she said.

As she sees it, the best way to way to run a neighborhood restaurant is to be neighborly.

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