CLEARFIELD – A popular downtown Clearfield restaurant spot, Spanky’s Courthouse Cafe, will be starred as one of “America’s Best Restaurants.”
America’s Best Restaurants, a national media and marketing company focusing on bringing attention to local, independently-owned restaurants, brought its ABR Roadshow to the restaurant Thursday.
Popular dishes were filmed, as well as an on-camera interview with owners, Rob and Heather Inguagiato, about the restaurant’s special place in their community.
The episode will be aired on social media in June or July.
Rob’s parents, Mona and Thomas ‘Spanky’ Rauch, opened the restaurant over 30 years ago. It started first as a concession stand, “Spanky’s Tacos,” traveling to fairs in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
But, according to Rob, it was always his mother’s dream to have her very own cafe, and when that dream came true, it immediately became a local favorite.
For a short while, she juggled both operations but did eventually give up life on the road to give her hometown her best.
Rob and Heather assumed her downtown legacy about eight years ago, though both have other jobs.
“We didn’t want to let our family business down,” he said, and “we won’t because of our amazing staff. It’s still open because of them; they take care of it like it’s their own.”
After 25 years in downtown Clearfield, Spanky’s Courthouse Cafe expanded in 2022 by purchasing and renovating the space next door, formerly LeFort’s Sweet Shop.
Its seating capacity doubled from about 50 to 100. The couple also added a variety of delightful pies and cheesecakes to satisfy their patrons with a sweet tooth.
The no-frills interior has dark maroon walls lined with cozy booths that each tell a community story like the restaurant’s early days as a taco stand or of Bob’s Army & Navy’s first store, which was located within the Spanky’s expanded dining area.
Last summer a new sign was added to the exterior of the restaurant.
Spanky’s opens daily at 6 a.m., and offers a full breakfast and lunch menu, plus daily specials.
It has a round table of regulars by 7 a.m.. “They come in every day. They sit in the same seats every day and [their order] is the same almost every day,” said Rob.
“… They’re here for two or three hours every morning—seven days a week. They’re like family. It’s what I love about this place.”
And, the feelings are clearly mutual as evidenced on social media when news broke of ABR starring their favorite spot.
“[It’s] the best breakfast place,” posted one patron, while another spoke of the staff’s attentiveness to the “special details,” making menu items to your liking, not theirs. “[I’ve] never had a bad meal, and could eat every meal there every day.”
All in all, patrons have shared the same Spanky’s experience—delicious food, large portions and wonderful waitresses.
“it’s a five-star restaurant for sure.”
“We love Spanky’s.”
“Spank and Mona would be proud.”
The community’s love for the downtown restaurant spot didn’t go unnoticed by ABR host Danyel Detomo.
“I can just tell that your community here absolutely loves your restaurant,” she expressed to Rob during the filming.
The episode will feature popular menu items like the heart-attack omelet; French toast topped with strawberries, whipped cream and powdered sugar; the ham & turkey club sandwich; and the roast beef Pittsburgh slammer.
These items all feature the cafe’s home-made bread, which is baked fresh daily.
“That bread is something special,” Detomo commented, with Rob adding it’s why so many frequent the restaurant.
The club sandwich is Rob’s favorite “go-to” while the slammer was one of his mother’s creations. It can be made to order—hot or cold—with roast beef, turkey, chicken or ham.
During the filming, he recalled how one day his mother just “slammed everything together” with some French fries, coleslaw, cheese, lettuce, onion and tomato, and “called it a sandwich.”
The restaurant’s finished episode premiere date will be announced on the ABR and Spanky’s Courthouse Cafe Facebook pages. It will also be featured on America’s Best Restaurants’ Web site.
Restaurants featured on the ABR Roadshow are found through customer nominations or by a restaurant applying to be featured at www.americasbestrestaurants.com.