For nearly 34 years Mary Lenhart has greeted her customers at the door of the County Seat Restaurant in downtown Clarion. Saturday, she did it for the final time — she and her husband, Gene, have sold the business to a Pittsburgh couple with local connections.
Mary Lenhart was working at the restaurant when the previous owners, Barb and Jack Shook, decided to sell it.
“We met and they liked us. We made the deal over the weekend,” she said. “I guess they felt we would continue what they started.”
“We were nothing fancy,” Lenhart said. “We had local favorites like lasagna or chicken and biscuits.”
When she and her husband started the business, she said local people didn’t eat out often.
“That has changed, and more and more people come in for breakfast or lunch,” she said. “I owe my success to good food, good people and God.”
The “good people” are her staff.
“Some of them have been with me for 20 years,” Lenhart said. “They have a real commitment to the business.”
Berta Simpson said she has been with the County Seat for “a few months” and “these people are my friends. They are a second family for me. They are amazing people. Here, even the customers are your friends.”
Lenhart said some of the restaurant’s best customers are the college and high school students. “They are always well behaved. We treat them like we would our own kids.”
“Maybe the new owners will want to paint the wall, or maybe not,” she said. “We are ready to move on. I think some of our staff is, too.”
However, at least three of the current staff members plan on staying at the County Seat.
“It has been very hard to say goodbye to our customers,” Lenhart said. “Many of them are our friends.”
The new owners, Arch and Stephanie Wiese, have not announced an opening date.
“She graduated from C-L and she has family here,” Lenhart said. “When I met them, I knew they were the ones.”
A special closing party will be held at the restaurant for the Lenharts at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 20.
Lenhart said she thought about traveling a bit upon retirement, but not until the gasoline prices come down.
“The first thing I will do is to help the new owners to be sure they will succeed,” she said.
“I am a volunteer. I will stay busy with that work. Maybe I’ll even stop by for a cup of coffee.”