Bradenton diner, a Tamiami Trail tradition since 1976, weathers the pandemic
Red and Sondra Crager founded Crager’s Family Diner in 1976, making it one of the longest standing businesses along the Tamiami Trail.
Through the thick and thin of rising and falling economies over the decades, the family developed a loyal clientele of customers through their friendly service and down home menu.
Crager’s, 7218 N. Tamiami Trail, is renown for its fried chicken, home-made vegetable beef soup, buttermilk biscuits, meat loaf, spaghetti and the calves liver with onions. The pancakes are pretty special, too. The Cragers actually patented their pancake batter.
“We are famous for our banana pudding and peach cobbler,” said Shannon Crager, who started working in the family business at age 14, about three years after the family opened Crager’s
Larry McDonald often has lunch and dinner at Crager’s and says he has no favorites.
“I order whatever special they have on their board. I never look at the menu. It’s always good food and the waitresses always treat us good,” McDonald said.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been an especially difficult and stressful time for all restaurants.
The Cragers closed the business from March 20-June 3, reopening only when the state allowed restaurant dining rooms to reopen at 50 percent capacity.
“We could have opened at 25 percent capacity, but we would have lost money,” Crager said.
Before the pandemic, Crager’s would have someone stopping by almost daily looking for a job. Ever since reopening, Crager’s has been working short-staffed, and rarely does anyone drop by to see if there are job openings.
“Now we don’t get applications. I hear that from everyone. We are working short-staffed. Before the pandemic, we had a staff of 14-15. Now I have nine. But we have a great staff and we are like family,” Shannon said.
Crager’s, once a 24-hour, seven day a week operation, is now closed Monday and is open 7 a.m. - 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
“We went to six days after the pandemic,” Crager said. Long-standing customers and snowbirds continue to come to Crager’s but not as many as before the pandemic. More customers are ordering takeout now as well.
Red, 81, and Sondra, 78, still help out at Crager’s — Sondra with the books, and Red in the kitchen, making biscuits and the meatloaf.
“My dad started as a line cook when he was 19. My parents worked so hard. My dad would go several months without taking a day off. They were so driven and had such love for the people,” Shannon said.
Shannon’s daughter, Shaylee Crager, started working in the family business while still in high school. She still helps out occasionally, but she is now a college student in Boca Raton. A niece, Brittany Trauthwein, also helped in the business before becoming a psychologist.
At one time, the family also had Crager’s Family Diners in Tampa, Kissimmee and Atlanta, but the Bradenton restaurant is the last of its kind.
For more information about the offerings at Crager’s Family Diner, call 941-351-2155 or visit their Facebook page, at facebook.com/CragersFamilyDiner.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
