Oceanfront diner: Where everybody knows your name

VIRGINIA BEACH

For nearly four decades, locals have been drawn to the down-home hospitality dished out at the Oceanfront and 36th Street.

The Belvedere coffee shop has long been a gathering spot where judges, doctors, lawyers, construction workers, secretaries and housewives mingle over meals.

Simplicity is the common attraction. There are no leather couches, no fancy lattes or green teas - luxuries featured just a few blocks away at the 31st Street corridor.

The Belvedere touts leaded and unleaded coffee only, in small or large sizes. And the only display case hawks lollipops and chocolate candy bars, not the latest jazz or folk CDs.

Diners appreciate the unpretentious atmosphere - the Formica counter tops, homemade pancakes and booth-view sunrises.

But what makes the Belvedere such a success, said m anager Brenda Miklos, may be its people.

"It's like home," she said. "We make everybody feel special."

Food and friendship lure them back.

Seven days a week, even in the absence of tourists, The

Belvedere serves up made-to-order breakfasts and cold plate specials with a side order of easy-going table conversation. Retirees swap photos of grandchildren and chitchat about new homes being built or presidential politics, though debates rarely arise.

"John McCain's son comes in here," said Carmen Infantino, a retired plumber.

"Oh, he's only been in here twice," interjected Bill Rueger, a retired bank executive.

Rueger is among a handful of Beach Northenders who sidles up to one of the "Belvedere blue" bar stools four or five times a week. He and Infantino find the diner's close quarters - it maxes out at 32 - cozy and inviting, like a favorite winter sweater.

"It's a family place where a lot of gregarious people meet and talk about various issues of the day, though we probably don't solve many of them," Rueger said.

Most of the regulars are known by their first names, if not by their orders. Steaming cups of coffee were waiting on the counter and pancakes were already bubbling on the grill when Linda and Fred Berman strolled in early Sunday.

"They're weekend warriors," Miklos said.

"I've got to get my pancake fix," responded Linda Berman, sliding onto one of the bar stools. She and her husband sit in the same spot every Sunday. They've done so for nearly five years.

"We like to watch the cook do his magic," Linda Berman said.

Like many others, the couple discovered the eatery through word of mouth. The c ustomers, can always count on a few things, such as Brandon Miklos, the manager 's son, serving up a mean "Eye Opener." The sandwich has a fried egg topped with ham or bacon, cheese, and fried tomatoes with Parmesan cheese, all on an onion roll.

Soups are common during the winter: chicken soup on Mondays, chili on Wednesdays and New England clam chowder, she-crab soup or salmon bisque on Fridays. "Tuesdays and Thursdays are always up in the air," waitress Mary Beth Trollinger said.

Elizabeth C. "Betty" Sams and her husband, W. D. "Bill" Sams Jr opened the Belvedere and its adjacent motel in the late 1960s. It earned its name from the street in Norfolk where the couple lived, Infantino said.

Infantino helped build the business and retired from the Sams' plumbing company years ago. He spends much of his time at the diner, often lending a hand with clearing tables or running errands for the employees.

"He's The Belvedere's Wal-Mart greeter," Rueger said.

Not much has on the menu changed over the years. The priciest dish is the 6-ounce marinated steak with fries and a salad. Customers can still order a cheeseburger at 7 a.m. if they want. Until May, The Belvedere didn't even accept credit cards.

During the winter, Hugh and Nancy Wrenn of Richmond can usually be spotted at their favorite booth, the one on the end with one leather bench facing the ocean. It's the best seat in the house, said Hugh Wrenn, especially for catching glimpses of whales often seen swimming offshore.

The booth is lovingly referred to as the "Honeymoon Seat" because only two people can fit there comfortably.

The Wrenns, however, had never heard of the nickname until recently.

"We should have known," Hugh Wrenn said, grinning. He and his wife have been dining at The Belvedere since they were married - 28 years ago.

Susan E. White, (757) 222-5114, susan.white@pilotonline.com