STRASBURG, Ohio — It’s another busy day at Rosalie’s, a restaurant in Strasburg with favorite diner fare - homemade pies and hot coffee, eggs prepared practically any way you could ask.
Weaving among the tables is a team of restaurant staff who seem to know every diner’s name. And if they don’t, they make it a point to get to know them.
Among the team, delivering bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches and refilling cups of ice water, is 18-year-old Samantha Frye.
“It’s a little community just in itself, people come here twice a day,” Frye said of Rosalie’s. “I love coming out here and talking to the regulars, like, ‘Hey, how’s your day? What are you doing the rest of the day?’ All that good stuff.”
The summer after she turned 16, Frye, who grew up in Dover, was searching for a job. She put in an application at Rosalie’s, and says owner Stephanie Roth hired her on the spot. From then on, she worked weekends while finishing up high school.
“You’re coming back to grandma’s,” said Stephanie of why the diner has such a loyal following. “Everybody loves to go to grandma’s. That’s what this is.”
In August of 2022, Frye was off to college at Ohio State, with a dream of studying environmental engineering. When she returned home for winter break, she stopped by Rosalie’s, thinking she could make a little money. Frye’s work ethic has been a constant in her life - she got her first job at 14, and at one point, even held three jobs, all the while saving up for college.
However, when Frye was in the restaurant over the winter, she heard that owners Stephanie and Bob Roth may consider selling the restaurant.
Frye, the teen with the constant drive and mind for business, began to contemplate putting in an offer with the Roths to buy Rosalie’s.
“I just was thinking about it as an investment for my future,” Frye said.
When she shared the idea, she was met with some apprehension from the Roths, as well as from her parents, who wanted to ensure she was making the right decision, and were hesitant about Frye leaving college.
“Sammy came in December and said, ‘are you interested in selling the restaurant?’” Stephanie remembered. “‘Why, do you know someone that’s interested?’ And she said ‘me.’ ‘Okay, Sammy, this is a big undertaking for a teenager.’”
Stephanie suggested the restaurant continue to lean on Frye as a manager, and have her continue working at the restaurant through 2023. However, Frye was persistent.
As the Roths and Frye continued discussions about a possible sale, the Roth family was undergoing some personal hardships in the form of health challenges, both as a couple, and with their families.
“By February, I had a pacemaker and defibrillator,” Stephanie said. “We went away for two weeks, came back and she said, ‘I don’t want to wait. Can we do this by the first of April?’”
Leaning heavily on their faith, the Roths made the decision to sell the restaurant to Frye.
“We like the idea a young person had the motivation to come forward and say, ‘I want to do this,’” said Stephanie and Bob. “The motivation and the desire to, I mean, save her money and then come back.”
In Spring of 2023, the deal was done, and Frye was officially the new owner of Rosalie’s. She used the money she had saved to pay for her college tuition to buy the restaurant.
However, the Roths are still there daily, helping guide Frye through the transition. Bob still bakes his pies in the mornings, and Stephanie still makes the rounds, greeting customers with her contagious laugh.
“I know the owners, they definitely wanted to sell it to somebody who they knew wasn’t going to change it and knew that was going to keep it running,” Frye said. “You know, like [who] wasn’t going to just tear it down or something, because it is a staple in the community.”
For the regular Eric Duncan, who stops by Rosalie’s regularly and finds his seat at the table of regulars who will converse, debate, and laugh together for hours daily, the importance of the restaurant is not lost.
“Fellowship, that’s why I’m here, because of fellowship. We’re down here kibitzing back and forth, enjoying each other’s company,” he said. “It’s like brothers, and that’s why we come down here.”
Duncan and his table wish Frye well, calling her a “good kid,” and sharing their support.
The Rosalie’s team is also behind Frye, and won’t let her fail.
“I hope she does well and keeps it going, that’s all you can do, pray, see what she does,” said Chad Edward Kinkade, an employee at Rosalie’s. “She’s got this though, we’ve got her back. And I know Steph and Bob, I know how they are, they’ll be right here with her.”
“We were praying that she would be able to be accepted because she’s 18, you know, and that the business would still support her,” Stephanie said, smiling. “I think she’ll be okay.”
Frye realizes she still has a lot to learn, and said the biggest challenge so far has been learning how to manage people, while noting that she enjoys the business side of the venture.
Though Rosalie’s has changed hands, Frye said she doesn’t plan on making changes, understanding the importance of preserving the community gathering space, and its meaning to not only Steph and Bob, Kinkade and Duncan, but the countless others who have found a home, one way or another, at Rosalie’s.
“The community, they are supporting me, especially the regulars,” Frye said. “Some of them come in two or three times a day, so I know all of them. They’ve been very supportive.”