Last February, Debra Allen and Jackie Gifford were working at Yum Yum Tasty Diner. The two were with the business for more than 20 years a piece, and at this point, were essentially running the establishment.

When Yum Yum Tasty Diner moved into Tommy Boy’s last March, Jackie Gifford and Debra Allen did not participate in the move of locations. Instead, the two were looking to something different.

“We just thought if we could find somewhere to put a diner that anything around here, whether it would have been Waynesburg or Carmichaels, would’ve been good because there are no really mom and pop sit downs,” Allen said. “There’s really not a whole lot around here. So, that was the idea.”

They started looking for a location to start a business, but the choices were limited. They kept searching. The possibility of going into the location of the old Stiffy’s Bar & Grill was a possibility, according to Allen, but the building was small and needed much repair.

“We just figured we already knew how to run it, it was just a matter of putting it together,” Allen said. “So that’s what we did.”

This February, the two are nine months into owning their own business – DJ’s Family Diner in Carmichaels – and they are not looking back. DJ’s Family Diner, which is located at 106 E. Roy Furman Highway, opened their doors May 14, 2017.

“We went ahead and agreed we would all go into business together [with our other partner we joined] and start this adventure and it’s worked out really well,” Allen said. “We do really, really well down here.”

It’s the experience the two had at Yum Yum’s that has allowed them to be successful owning their own diner.

The diner has about 10 employees – including a baker, a dishwasher and two different cooks. Allen and Gifford knew they couldn’t do it alone, but they didn’t want to be over-staffed.

They have help from family and friends and even some faces of those who filled out an application.

The menu is one of the reasons the business is so successful, according to both the owners and several customers. Garbage plates, French toast on homemade bread, pancakes, pies and the daily specials are huge hits, according to Allen. The garbage plate is something that originated with the Airport Restaurant, but DJ’s has come up with their own version of the dish.

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The home-cooked meals are what brings customers to return and some to become regulars.

“Everything is made from scratch, we don’t pre-order any of it – and that’s what people want, they want home-cooked meals, they don’t want processed food, they don’t want fast-food,” Allen said. “And I think that’s why we do so well with our lunches, is because everything is homecooked.”

While some have commented that DJ’s stole the homemade bread recipe from Yum Yum’s, Allen said the recipe was given to Yum Yum’s by her mother-in-law, who created the recipe.

The customers Allen and Gifford know are greeted personally at their regular table with their usual coffee or drink. There’s customers who were regulars at Yum Yum’s that are now regulars at DJ’s, and there are some regulars who are specifically DJ’s regulars – at the place that hasn’t even been around an entire year yet.

“Your customers eventually become family and you care about all of them,” Allen said.

Gifford said a big reason the business has regulars is because of these close interactions.

“It’s more like a home atmosphere when you come in here because people like to talk,” Gifford said. “And I like to interact with my customers…We are able to talk to people and it’s nice.”