Mt. Sterling Restaurant Celebrates 30 Years

The village of Mt. Sterling has had its ups and downs in recent years. The town, about 20 miles southwest of Columbus, lost its police force two years ago due to budget cuts. More recently the only grocery store went out of business. But there’s a café on the corner that’s still going strong. The friendly service at Ben & Joy’s is as down-home as the home-style cooking. It keeps customers like Stan Beauman coming back. Beauman eats at the restaurant every day. “I like the food and I like the people. You cannot beat the pumpkin pie. It’s great,” Beauman says. Surviving through thick and thin Ben and Joy’s celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. Breakfast offers classics like hotcakes and bacon and eggs. The lunch and dinner menu and the buffet are pure comfort food. Owner Joy Stroup has worked in the restaurant business for 50 years. She says people come from all over for the specialties. “Our fried chicken is the best ever. And we do have the ocean perch. Then I’m still making my own pies. That’s a plus,” Stroup says. When Joy’s husband was alive he did the cooking while she bought food, scheduled staff and handled the payroll. Ben passed away 21 years ago leaving Joy to manage the restaurant alone. She decided she could not give up. “It was hard. You have to go on. You just kind of have to,” Stroup says. She might be soft spoken, but Joy makes sure things are cooked her way. “All I need is a cook that will listen. I don’t want new ideas, I want the proven things that have worked all this time. And I want them to use my recipe without adding to it. That’s hard to find because every cook thinks she’s the best and sometimes she is, but she still has to listen to me,” Stroup says. Sunday is the busiest day of the week. Most tables are filled. Joy walks from table to table quietly greeting her guests. Sometimes she’s persuaded to play hymns on an old upright piano. Fueled by faith Religion is a big part of Ben and Joy’s. Paper placemats have blessings from several faiths printed on them. Pictures of angels hang on the walls. Tucked away behind one of the dining rooms is the Angel Room Gift Shop which sells all sorts of angel figurines. Angels are in the Bible, so they’re important, Joy says. She says her faith has helped her weather the hard times. “All that I have and all that I do and all that I am is because of God. He gives me health so I can still work at 77. And he keeps me open, actually. And I just rely on my faith in him to send me business and he does,” Stroup says. In the summer, visitors to nearby Deer Creek State Park give the restaurant an extra boost; enough to keep it going during the winter. Travelers along Route 62 often stop in. Symbol of stability In a village struggling to stay afloat, where businesses come and go, Ben and Joy’s is a symbol of stability. Mount Sterling Chiropractor Don Maple: “Ben and Joy’s is a long-time staple of this community and I know all the locals really love the comradery that they get. Having Ben and Joys around for the last 30 years has been a real plus to this community,” Maple says. Village councilman David Timmons agrees. He calls Ben and Joy’s the nucleus of the community. “On Saturday mornings when all the farmers get together and all the people talk about the Friday night football game, we talk over the world problems at one of the tables and it’s been that way for 30 years basically,” Timmons says. Joy Stroup hopes there will be many more years to come. “I’m going to stay as long as God lets me stay here. I’m just going to work as long as I can,” Stroup says. “It’s either that or sit out there in a rocking chair by myself.”