By Brian McCarthy | Special to The Daily Local News | Feb. 12, 2008

LANDMARK’S CLOSING, TO BUILD A STARBUCKS AND WALGREENS, LEAVES A HOLE

Phoenixville, PA
Vale-Rio Diner employees gathered Sunday, not only to commiserate the diner’s closing, but to celebrate memories of what for many is a second home.

About 10 diner employees congregated perhaps for the last time Sunday afternoon and shared their tears and laughter. The gathering allowed them share each other’s company before the Vale-Rio’s closing on Feb. 24.

The diner’s closing, together with the Fountain Inn’s on March 2, to make way for a Starbucks and Walgreens, will place about 43 people on the unemployment line. Danielle Charry is affected by both closings because she works as an assistant manager at the Vale-Rio and as a bar manager at the Fountain Inn.

“It’s very upsetting,” she said.

Charry’s favorite memory from her time at the diner is a Christmas party from two years ago when the staff gathered to celebrate the holidays and play games, such as pin the tail on the reindeer.

Eric Charry, who has worked as a cashier and server for more than two years, brought his video camera to film the event. “I feel torn,” Eric Charry said. “It’s a great place that’s really hectic at times. Overall, it’s definitely a great place to work.”

The staff agreed on what part of working at the Vale-Rio they will miss the most.

“The people, the people,” server Pam Vanderslice said. “It’s the people you get to know.”

“I’m close with the owners, the customers, the employees,” said Pam’s daughter, Barbara Vanderslice, who also works as a server.

Barbara Vanderslice is the third generation of the Vanderslice family to work at the diner, following her mother and grandmother. “I’ve been working here since I was 14,” she said.

Mother and daughter then embraced each other, and fellow waitress Helen Jackson, who has worked at the diner for more than 15 years, joined in.

“It’s really sad, real sad,” Jackson said. “I just feel like I’m losing my family. There’s so many memories. So many. This feels like a bad dream.” She added she hopes that owner Francis Puleo will be able to reopen the Vale-Rio, once the diner’s structure is moved to his office’s property, also on Nutt Road. Jackson plans to write letters to borough officials supporting the reopening.

Before that happens, the diner will hold a liquidation sale of miscellaneous items such as knives and forks, plates and some tables Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.

“The little stuff,” manager Tom Sampsell said. “So people can get a little memory.”

“We knew (the closing) was coming,” he added. “What are you gonna do? It’s approaching the end.”

Originally published online here: http://www.dailylocal.com/WebApp/appmanager/JRC/Daily;!2130610164?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pg_article&r21.pgpath=%2FDLN%2FBusiness&r21.content=%2FDLN%2FBusiness%2FHeadlineList_Story_1567000