Chino restaurant known for its struggles in the family atmosphere

CHINO, CA – Some restaurants are known for their excellent cuisine, others for their special ambiance. The Flo’s Airport Café has been open at the same location in Chino since 1962.

But after nearly a year of ups and downs from the pandemic, things aren’t just different there – employees say they feel different too.

When she was 7, Flo’s Airport Cafe was full of people Roxanne Stache considered family. Today, it is difficult for him to see it empty.

“I grew up running in this restaurant. It’s heartbreaking, ”Stache said.

As the saying goes, if the walls could talk, they would be filled with stories. But at Flo, Roxanne shows that it’s the furniture that has a lot to say.

“You can see the elbow marks on all the counters, all the way down and the plaque marks where it’s just worn out from the history of friendship, family and food,” she said. shown.

This is the story of Chino. Sixty years ago the small town was known for its dairies.

Every morning the milkmen had breakfast at Flo’s, doing business and selling cows with eggs and bacon.

“There are marks on the floor from where their feet were and from the table, but this is history, this is where the whole history of Chino was made,” Stache explained.

Most of their customers have eaten here for decades, but Roxanne said it’s not the famous home cooking that keeps them coming back.

“It’s more than food, it’s family,” she says.

A family that has kept it at its lowest point.

“One of my sons was killed recently and he worked here for a little while and when he was killed everyone here kissed me,” she explained.

Roxanne said more than 500 people have come to her son’s services, mostly employees and customers of Flo’s Airport Cafe.

David Poling has been coming to the café for 25 years. Now, he meets his friend Lorenzo there twice a month, just to make up for it.

“We often meet here as a place to come and be able to talk because every time we come here it’s the atmosphere that makes us comfortable,” explained Lorenzo.

The same goes for a couple who have been coming here for 30 years.

As truckers, Mike and Chloe Compton drive from Michigan to New York and across the country to the West Coast, they never miss a trip to Flo’s when in California.

“Home cooking. Nothing to say but home cooking. And the vibe at home,” said Mike and Chloe Compton.

An atmosphere that Roxanne said was almost impossible to recreate when they were only allowed to serve take out food through a window.

“That’s the story here and the customers said we want to support you, but we don’t want to eat styrofoam. We’re coming to you guys. We’re coming to be part of the family,” Stache cried. “You know, they love us as much as we love them.”

Although they are good, it was never really about cookies and gravy. “I wish I could hug you!” Stache told two customers.

It is friendship, a place to go where they know they will be welcomed with open arms.