Comfort at Cook's: Owner, customers dish on Weedsport diner

WEEDSPORT — The name of Cook's Village Diner comes from its owner, but it also sums up the straightforward comfort the restaurant serves to customers.

Jeff Cook, who opened the diner at 8991 N. Seneca St. in 2016, said it's been consistently busy ever since.

His 25-year-old daughter and successor, Holly Cook, thinks she knows why.

"Food makes everyone happy," she said. "If someone comes in and they're having a bad day, you can change it around or just make them smile."

The beige cement building was the site of Zim's Place-The Village Diner until 2008. It was "a mess" when Jeff took it over, he said. Fresh off running the Cato Family Diner and the restaurant at Hickory Hill Golf Course in his native Baldwinsville, he spent about five months renovating the abandoned space. Along with new infrastructure, it has a new but classic red and white checkerboard floor.

About 10 people were eating at Cook's when The Citizen visited Thursday morning. Less than half an hour later, several more sat down at its round barstools and padded booths.

The comfort of food

Cook's serves breakfast and lunch daily, and dinner a few days per week.

Whatever customers order, Holly said, they know they'll get a homecooked meal.

"It's so different than corporate food," she said. "You're not going to get the same chicken tenders that you do from Applebee's."

All the diner's food is prepared by hand. Those tenders are dipped and breaded there, and the hamburger patties are also packed by staff.

They all work under the eye of Jeff, who said he loves being his own boss. But sometimes there's a gray area between running a restaurant and family dynamics, his daughter said.

"I don't like being back in the kitchen," Holly said with a big grin. "Plus, I don't think my dad likes me back there either."

Cook's sources food from Oswego-based Davis Brothers . Their longtime relationship and the diner's consistent business allows it to keep prices affordable.

Customer Dawson Brown, for instance, said it's rare to find a $5 special like the diner's, which includes two eggs, toast and coffee.

Brown made up a party of about 10 men on Thursday. The diner is one of the places they frequent after a round of golf at Meadowbrook, they said. Several of them agreed on the diner's affordability.

On the other side of Cook's sat Ryan Jedra and his 2-year-old daughter, Olivia. She snacked on a plate of pickles while waiting for their food to come out.

"It's just good hometown cooking. We love the goulash," Jedra said, pausing to look down at Oliva, "and the chocolate milk."

A gathering place

"You gotta be here," Jeff said about the restaurant business. "There's no flexibility."

The Cato Family Diner, his first restaurant, didn't see the same success as Cook's.

"I think it was a little too far off the beaten path," he said.

Weedsport, where Jeff has lived for nearly 30 years, is just busier enough, he said. But it's also close enough to welcome his clientele from Cato.

"It's a place where everyone knows everybody," Holly said.

Newer customers find their way to Cook's all the time thanks in part to its proximity to the Thruway.

Karen Desso, of Webster, and her friend Cindy Hinkle, of Camden, were meeting for the first time in 10 years Thursday. They chose the diner because it was halfway between them.

Desso had a plate of scalloped potatoes and ham in front of her. The white of the plate was reduced to a slim ring.

"The menu and the prices were great," said Hinkle, who ordered a large salad packed with greens, vegetables and chicken.

The friends said they unexpectedly enjoyed the meal as much as catching up.

Jeff, who hopes to retire in a few years, and his daughter couldn't find the words to describe why the restaurant business calls to them. But it definitely does.

"I fell in love with it," Holly said. "It's a passion. I can't see myself doing anything else."

Staff writer Christopher Malone can be reached at (315) 282-2232 or .

Town, village and business reporter