Hartner's Restaurant Closes After Sixty Years

by Janice Lane Palko

They say all good things must come to an end, but that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye — especially when it comes to bidding farewell to a beloved landmark like Hartner’s Restaurant.

A fixture on Rt. 19 in Cranberry, Hartner’s first opened for business in 1946 and was the site of many firsts for the Cranberry area. The founders, Eddie “Pop” Hartner and his wife, Francis, were the first to introduce television and draft beer to the area.

Eddie started the business as a bar. [See the photo left of Eddie with patrons at the original bar.] With the help of his eldest son, Ed, Jr., and daughter-in-law, Leona, the establishment rapidly expanded to include a restaurant and hotel. They even built five honeymoon cottages on the property. At that time there weren’t any hotels or motels in Cranberry. Eddie and Francis’ other two children, William and Jean Hartner Swanson, also contributed to the family business.

In its heyday, Rudy Vallee, the famous singer from the 40s, was a regular visitor at Hartner’s. He was a friend of Eddie, who was an accomplished violinist and a natural musician. Eddie could play a tune from memory without sheet music from start to finish. When Vallee dropped in to visit with his friend, Eddie played the violin for him.

By the mid-1950s, Hartner’s flourished as an oasis to locals and those traveling Rt. 19. When Eddie died in 1958, his son and daughter- in-law, William and Amelia Baker Hartner, purchased the restaurant. Since William Hartner’s passing in 1967, Amelia has overseen the operation. Amelia Hartner, now 87, has decided that this is the appropriate time to retire, even though she said she never thought she would retire this young.

The restaurant site was recently sold to a development company, and there is talk of a new Walgreens Pharmacy being built on the property.

“I feel bad about it’s closing, and I’m very sorry to see it go,” said Mrs. Hartner, who recalls spending long days—from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m.—running the establishment and then traveling to her home in McKees Rocks. Old Rt. 19 was the only road running between Pittsburgh and Erie. There were no other establishments in the area. “We served breakfast, lunch and dinners, to individuals and busloads of customers,” Mrs. Hartner said. “Whatever needed to be done in the restaurant, we did it from cooking to washing dishes by hand.”

Amelia Hartner, Maryh Theresa Hartner Coster, Andrea Coster	Bill & Amelia Hartner and Ed, Jr. & Leona Hartner

William and Amelia Hartner raised three children while operating the restaurant, Bill, Mary Theresa and John, who each spent time working there. Bill is the only one who resides in the area. Mary Theresa Hartner Coster now lives near Seattle, and John calls Wilton, Connecticut, home.

While growing up, Bill worked in the restaurant, helping in the kitchen. “I’ve always felt that we served the best crab cakes. In fact, people from Baltimore would tell me that our crab cakes were better than the ones they got back home in Maryland,” he said.

Mrs. Hartner felt that their fresh roasted turkeys were what made them stand out. Her late husband was an exceptional baker too, making homemade bread for the diners. While Hartner’s could be counted on for scrumptious food, even the best chefs slip up occasionally.

“We had a baker named Joe Langer, who came from the Carlton House restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh. He had won the Pillsbury Bake-off and was even invited to the White House to bake for President Reagan,” Bill Hartner recalled. “One time he made incredibly beautiful lemon meringue pies. The problem was that he forgot to add the lemon extract. With their mouths watering, the patrons ordered slices, and then you could see them take one bite, another and then finally with puzzled looks ask, Are these lemon pies?”

Family has always been an integral part of Hartner’s success. Mary Theresa Hartner Coster joined her mother at the restaurant in 1978, and they worked as a team for 22 years. Her husband, Andrew, baked and cooked when needed. He was known for Hartner’s famous cheesecakes. Their daughter, Andrea, worked many long hours at the restaurant, sometimes with cousins Ben, Nick and Ernie Hartner. The Sunday Brunch was their specialty.

John Hartner, who is the CEO of DEK International, a technology provider, learned much while working in the restaurant. “The business taught us all the value of working hard, satisfying customers and encouraging people while still making a profit. Those lessons have helped all three of us move into areas that interest us,” John said.

When he looks back on Hartner’s years of business, one thing stands out in his mind. “I think I’ll remember most the way my mother got such satisfaction from seeing customers (who in time became friends) visit the business and enjoy their experience at Hartner’s. She always lit up when that happened,” John said.

Dwayne Wilson, manager at Hartner’s for the past 10 years, is overseeing the closing of the establishment. The restaurant’s last day of business was July 29. “Our customers are heartbroken,” Wilson said. An auction will be held and then a date for a sale that will be open to the public will be determined.

Mrs. Hartner attributes their years of success to their exceptional employees. “The people we had working for us were great and honest. We never had to worry about them,” Mrs. Hartner said. “I couldn’t have done it without my loyal employees like Mary Hawthorne, Bob Dickey, and bartender Sandy Kohl, who worked at Hartner’s for 30 years, along with many other wonderful employees—too many to mention.”

“It’s hard for me to think about Hartner’s closing. I find myself tearing up whenever I begin to talk about it,” Mary Theresa Coster said.

She takes some consolation that Hartner’s presence won’t be entirely erased from the Cranberry area. “When I read that they are going to rename the road to the north of Hartner’s that connects Rt. 19 to Dutilh Road, Hartner’s Drive, I was thrilled,” Coster said.

Mary Theresa fondly remembers all the customers they served over the decades. “One of our customers had his wedding at the restaurant, and when he and his wife came to Seattle, they visited us,” Coster said.

The Hartner family wanted to express their thanks to the community, their loyal employees, customers, friends and families. “One longtime customer recently sent me a note,” Coster said, “and it said, ‘Thanks for the memories.’ I think we all echo that sentiment.”

Back to top