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Country comfort: Diners flock to region for the hunting, fishing and Kountry Kettle food

Mirror photo by Cherie Hicks / Phyllis Hall serves a family from Flintstone, Maryland, who stopped on their way home from a weekend at Raystown Lake. From left are Chrissy Schultz, daughter Hailey and James Schultz and Hall.

HOPEWELL — When the diner opened on Raystown Road here about 1940, it was a popular hangout for area residents, particularly coal miners ending their shifts at the nearby Broad Top Field.

It survived the closing of the mines and World War II, even though the War Price and Rationing Board capped prices for menu items, including 5 cents for a cup of coffee and $1 for a T-bone steak.

Today, you can see copies of posters from the Rationing Board on the wall of Kountry Kettle, which has grown into a full-size restaurant that remains a hopping place thanks, in large part, to anglers and hunters streaming in for the comfort food served.

“My mother-in-law met her husband here,” said Dana Troutman, who has owned it for 23 years. “I met my wife here. This was the hangout for a lot of people back when people didn’t travel far. Now, we get a lot coming to the area for the fishing and hunting.”

The Juniata River is four miles away; Yellow Creek is closer than that. Both are full of cabins that bring in tourists, as does Raystown Lake, about 20 miles up Route 26 from here.

“We get a lot of people from Baltimore and Washington going to the lake,” Troutman said.

The Schultz family of Flintstone, Md., was headed home from a vacation there recently and decided to stop at Kountry Kettle, having simply spotted it along the road. James Schultz was eager to dive into the Big Tex Burger, complete with a half-pound burger, fried egg, bacon and American cheese on grilled Texas toast that Marie Foster had just cooked up in the kitchen.

A lot of diners will drive miles just for the food, particularly the most popular, all-you-can-eat haddock special for $12 on Friday nights, Lenten season or not, Troutman said.

“We have regulars come from Altoona,” he said. “One group of guys comes from Cumberland (Md.) every week.”

A lot of famous people, too.

The late James Best, known for his role as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane on the “Dukes of Hazzard,” used to be a regular. Pittsburgh Steelers guard David DeCastro and offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva have come in several times, as has retired Pirates catcher Manny Sanguillen, said Troutman.

One time, he said, four or five players for the Washington Redskins dropped in. They were here for the fishing — and the fish.

Kountry Kettle serves up impressive specials besides the haddock, which you can get fried or baked. Monday through Thursday, you can get two dinners — rotating among shrimp, meatloaf and more — for the price of one, for $10 or $12. You can fill up on ham pot pie on Tuesday with an all-you-can-eat special at $9. A lot of the food is house-made, including the meatloaf and pot pie, as well as pies and soups.

“We offer country-style, comfort food,” Troutman said. “We’re also known for our Southern fried chicken. But we also have a light-side menu for dietary concerns” that includes shrimp or chicken stir-fry and a full salad bar every day.

Troutman credits the cook, Foster, and other long-term employees for the success of Kountry Kettle.

“I came with the place,” Foster said, over the noise of a drill.

She was cutting fresh potatoes with a “spiralizer” to make curly fries. She used a hand-crank for years until Troutman connected it to a power drill.

“We’re known for our curly fries,” Foster added.

You can get a huge plate for $3.

Troutman said he always liked to cook, but never intended to get into the restaurant business. For years, his mother has owned the New Frontier Restaurant four miles away in the mountain gap on Route 36, where, as a kid, Troutman washed dishes and otherwise helped out.

“But I wasn’t interested in that business,” he said.

Troutman had his eye on bigger things. As he was about to earn a business and economics degree from the University of Pitts­burgh, he had already interviewed for several jobs. But two weeks before graduation, his father, who owned an electrical business and two farms, died unexpectedly.

Troutman gave up his plans.

“I had to stick around and take care of the farms,” he said.

Within just a few years, by the age of 25, he bought the restaurant, while still operating the farms and other side businesses. In the last five years, he has completely remodeled the inside, put a new facade with a log-cabin look on the outside and installed a new, expanded kitchen just last year.

His wife, Kandy, who is a teacher up the road at Northern Bedford Elemen­tary School, helps him run the business, which has expanded to include a large catering clientele.

Gloria Medlin lives nearby and comes in regularly. When her grown son brought his family from Baltimore for a visit recently, they all went to Kountry Kettle for breakfast.

“The sausage is really good; the potatoes are fantastic,” said Kenneth Medlin. “They give you a lot of food for what you pay.”

“I’m not a big eater, but everything is good,” said Gloria Medlin, who worked at the restaurant for a time.

She offered advice for those who might want to stop in for Sunday dinner: “You better get here early,” she said. “When churches get out, the place gets packed.”

Troutman said he expects weekends to remain busy with the impending autumn season approaching. Not only do hunters flood the area as they try their luck with big game, leaf peepers come to view the changing of the foliage.

Mirror Staff Writer Cherie Hicks is at 949-7030.

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Behind the Plates

Kountry Kettle Restaurant

2841 Raystown Road (Route 26), Hopewell Township

(814) 652-2095

Online: www.KountryKettle.net; search for Kountry Kettle on Facebook

Atmosphere: Casual

Hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., daily, until 8:30 p.m. on Fridays, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays

Breakfast: Served until 11 a.m. Options include two eggs, toast, home fries and meat for $6; ham and cheese omelet for $7; and an egg sandwich for $4.

Lunch specials: Served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Options include All-American Burger for $8; Philly Steak Sandwich for $8; and chicken salad sandwich and cup of soup for $7.

Daily dinner specials: Rotating two for the price of one dinners include shrimp, country fried steaks and haddock, from $10 to $12. Bottomless soup and salad bar, $8

Capacity: 100

Notes: Takeout, free Wi-Fi, extensive catering services offered.

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