Paul Katcher and Tom Roma have a last breakfast at the Green Owl.
Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
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By Jane Smith
Dave Gensman gave up his 33-year-old spot on Atlantic Avenue the same July weekend that Garrison Keillor retired from his 42-year radio career.
Keillor relied on his Minnesota, no-emotion style when starring in the radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion.
But in Delray Beach, Gensman said he felt nauseated all week just thinking about the last day of the Green Owl on Atlantic Avenue.
“Thirty-three years,” Gensman said as he looked around the paneled restaurant, adorned with hundreds of owl images.
Various owl art decorates the Green Owl’s paneled walls.
The Green Owl, which accepts cash only, was among the last places downtown where diners could be served by a waitress and spend less than $10 for breakfast or lunch.
A firm affiliated with the Delray Beach-based Menin Co. bought two Atlantic Avenue buildings in April 2015 for $19 million. Menin wants to raise the rent for the Green Owl space, expand it and rent it to a Capital One Café. The Green Owl will reopen in the fall in a smaller spot on Southeast Fourth Avenue, also owned by Menin.
The Green Owl is just one example of a small business finding it difficult to stay afloat amid escalating real estate prices in Delray Beach’s increasingly trendy downtown.
Comfort food,
comfortable folks
At the Green Owl, Gensman created a comfortable spot where people could gather and catch up on the news.
“We always sit at the counter,” said frequent Sunday diner Julie Greene. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, she feels at home amid Gensman’s Steelers memorabilia and has for more than 16 years. “It’s like a Friday night at the Cheers bar on Sunday mornings,” she said.
Paul Katcher and Tom Roma of Boca Raton have eaten at the Green Owl for about 10 years. The boyfriend of Roma’s daughter discovered it. Katcher likes having a hamburger for breakfast, which the restaurant makes for him.
They also have a favorite waitress, 11-year server Traci Padalino. She spells her last name, and then asks, “Why do you want to know?” That makes Katcher and Roma chuckle. They appreciate her snappy comebacks.
Mike Luther, an eight-year customer from Delray Beach, picks up that line of humor. He responds, “It’s about time,” when asked how he feels about the Green Owl’s last day.
Chris Cooper, who has eaten at the restaurant since the late ’80s, laments the lack of small-business owners on Atlantic Avenue. “It’s becoming just like South Beach,” he said.
Cooper usually orders the Green Owl’s grilled cheese on rye. “It’s to die for,” he said. He enjoys the nostalgic, 1950s feel of the family restaurant.
David Gensman (left), owner of the Green Owl diner in Delray Beach, speaks with Julie and John Greene,
customers for some 16 years. The diner is leaving its location on Atlantic Avenue for a spot across the street
at 11 SE Fourth Ave. Gensman’s mother, Carol Savage, bought the restaurant in 1983. He expects to reopen in November.
Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
Keeping the ‘family’ feel
Throughout the Green Owl’s last morning on Atlantic Avenue, Gensman’s eyes would tear up from time to time.
Breakfast was free that day. Customers were asked to make a donation to the breast cancer fund for the relative of a Green Owl waitress. “I want to give back to the community,” Gensman said.
Later, he would open the restaurant for a last bash on Atlantic Avenue — for his regular customers.
When asked which owl is his favorite, Gensman went into the kitchen, rooted around and returned with an owl head that once held plants. He beamed as he showed off the planter. He values the piece not for its looks but because of the person who gave it to him.
The Green Owl’s new space will seat 65 diners, 20 fewer than on Atlantic Avenue. Menin is building out the space, and it should be ready by November. Gensman is in charge of the décor — paneling and most of the owls.
Greene and her husband, John, say they relish the camaraderie of sitting at the counter. They’ve been invited to weddings and baby showers, held by people they’ve met at the Green Owl.
Gensman will try to keep that family feeling and hopes to fit a counter in the new place.
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