Lionakis Diner
Stephanie Rodoussakis has deep roots in our Valley. People may remember the girl who grew up on Teaberry Road serving in her uncle Mike’s restaurant, Rudy’s Corner Grill, a well known staple of Ronceverte for decades, until it closed several years ago. Stephanie also knew Doug Hylton, who had dreamed of opening an ice cream shop in downtown Ronceverte, and who tirelessly worked in numerous ways for the betterment of his beloved hometown until his untimely death in 2019.
In May 2023, Stephanie, who had always dreamed of opening her own diner, played a role in seeing a part of Doug Hylton’s dream for Ronceverte come to pass in a slightly different way than originally planned: She opened Lionakis Diner, a hometown family diner, in the space in which Doug had created for his ice cream shop. Even though the diner serves much more than ice cream, they are using the furniture that Doug installed. Angela Alderman, Doug’s niece, and friend to Stephanie, reflected on what it all means to her. “It was so heartfelt, walking in and knowing that actually his dream did come true.”
Stephanie continues a family tradition of quality foodservice. In addition to her work at Rudy’s for her uncle, her grandparents operated The Court Restaurant on Court Street in the 1950s, and her family runs The Court Restaurant at the State Fair of West Virginia, since 1954. All of this experience certainly served Stephanie well, and the single mother of three branched out on her own. Lionakis (a Greek family name), also stands on its own as a quality establishment.
The diner seats around 32, with tentative plans to offer outdoor seating by summer. The mouthwatering menu includes half-pound burgers, chicken salad, similar recipes to Rudy’s popular homemade spaghetti sauce (“it’s not exact, I still have to do my own thing,” Stephanie emphasized), hot dogs on English buns, club sandwiches, and specials every day. “We’re slowly growing, and we hope to offer some new menu items this summer,” Stephanie said. “Things are kind of similar to Rudy’s, but we have a different take. I can’t do everything exactly like that, I have to have my own little flair to things,” she laughed. The diner also offers hand dipped ice cream and homemade desserts.
When asked her favorite thing about what she does, Stephanie replied, “We have a nice vibe here. I love serving people. I love making people happy and just having a service to offer the community. I’m offering reasonable prices, I’m offering people jobs, being able to provide jobs to the ladies that I have. And again, I’m just hoping to carry on the tradition, and hopefully we’ll be around for another thirty-some years around here. I love to cook. It’s a lot of work but I love it.”
I also asked Stephanie what she’d like the readers of Hashtag to know about Lionakis, and she said, “Come try us out. We’re a family owned small business, trying to support the community. We want to give back, and make everybody happy. We want to serve everybody a great meal, and we love the togetherness, the community. Sometimes people sit here seat to seat, just talking, and I like having that atmosphere here again.”
Lionakis is open from 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The diner is located at 124 Frankford Road, Ronceverte. For more information and daily specials, you can visit the Lionakis Diner Facebook page or call 304-992-6457.
