Western Sizzlin, a Danville dining icon for more than 40 years, closes

Owner Charles Mantooth told the Danville Register & Bee on Wednesday morning that the eatery was closing was due to retirement. 

“We’ve aged out,” Mantooth, 84, said during an interview at the business where customers were coming in to redeem their gift certificates.  

The building that houses Western Sizzlin has been on the market for about a year and there have been no inquiries from potential buyers, he said. 

Employees had been aware of the building being for sale since it went on the market, Mantooth said. Workers were told of the likelihood of the restaurant’s closing at the beginning of this month, he said. 

“Everybody knew it was coming up,” he said of the closing, adding that many employees will receive severance pay. 

Western Sizzlin in Danville had about 80 employees. 

Long-time kitchen manager Matthew Jones, 59, said the closing is like “a punch in the gut.”

It was 35 years ago when Jones began working at the eatery after getting a job there through a friend of his who was a line cook at the time. 

“The people, the customers,” Jones said of what he liked about working at Western Sizzlin. “Most of the customers, we knew by name.”

He also expressed affection for Mantooth, who was standing next to Jones when they spoke to the Register & Bee. 

“He’s just like my Daddy,” Jones said, patting Mantooth on the back. 

He said he wasn’t sure what he will do next. 

It was roughly 45 years ago when Western Sizzlin opened its doors at 3211 Riverside Drive, near what was then Kmart. 

“Western Sizzlin was just getting started and the Danville market was open for it,” Mantooth recalled. 

Western Sizzlin was founded in 1962 in Augusta, Georgia, by Nick Pascarella, according to the company’s website.

Pascarella used a special steak seasoning and a process of grilling the bottom and top of the steaks simultaneously to lock in flavor, according to Western Sizzlin’s website. 

Long-time customer Philip Bryant had been frequenting Western Sizzlin in Danville since the Riverside restaurant opened. 

“I hate to see this place close,” the 83-year-old said when he came in to redeem more than $100 in gift cards. 

Bryant, who ate at Western Sizzlin at least twice a week, cited the “good food, good service, good people” as reasons he loved the restaurant. 

Twenty-two-year-old employee Blake Fuquay worked at Western Sizzlin for seven years, starting out as a dishwasher and making his way up to kitchen management. 

“I really enjoyed what I did here the past seven years,” Fuquay said. 

He got a job at the business after his grandfather, who knew Mantooth, brought Fuquay to Western Sizzlin to talk to Mantooth. 

“It’s been a family relationship ever since,” Fuquay said.

As for what he’ll do next, Fuquay said he will continue on in the food service industry, working in catering.  

Western Sizzlin had a second location at Nor-Dan Shopping Center from 1980 to 1990, Mantooth said. 

Gift certificates are being redeemed at the business through Jan. 31, Mantooth said.