Business Spotlight: Mom and Pop's more than a fixture to downtown

The dictionary defines "fixture" as something that remains in place, an established part of something else.

In downtown Carson City, there are a number of businesses that can make a case for being fixtures, storied parts of the Nevada state capital.

But few are as endearing to so many as Mom and Pop's Diner.

The popular restaurant, located at the corner of N. Carson and Third streets for more than 20 years, has also been loved by locals, legislators and visitors alike for a generation.

That's because Mom and Pop's is more than a recognizable fixture in downtown Carson City.

It's family.

And that's just the way owners Doug and Jamesa Cramer like it, because it's been their restaurant's modus operandi from the very beginning.

"We treat our customers like family," said Doug Cramer, who ran the original Pop's Barbecue with his dad, Sidney, for whom the business was named. "We have so many people who come in here and say they don't need a menu because they aleady know what they want."

And, just like family, the Cramers have come to know their regular customers so well over the years that serving them is more like making family meals at home over the proverbial dining table.

"It's called Mom and Pops for a reason," Doug said. "Because we are so friendly here, what better place to come than a place that's like home?"

Mom was added to the business after Doug met and married his wife, Jamesa, in 1998. The couple has been running the restaurant together ever since.

The Cramers have invested much of themselves and their business into downtown and the city. They sponsored a Friday night concert series along Third Street for several years and, for a time, they contracted with the Carson City School District to provide food for the high school.

In April 2010 they opened the Paradise Cove Cafe in the Carson Mall. But the venture struggled to take hold and finally closed in February 2012, Doug said.

While Paradise Cove is gone, much of its tropical island decor can be seen inside Mom and Pop's Diner these days. The tropical theme is something close to the Cramer's hearts, representing their memories of several special trips the couple has made together.

Jamesa, or Mom, is the artist of the pair. Her creativity is evident from murals, canvas paintings, mosaics, and even hand-made wind chimes displayed throughout the restaurant.

Doug, a second-generation Pop after his dad, is the comedian. His down-home sense of humor, enjoyed and appreciated by his family of loyal customers, complements an already light and friendly atmosphere.

Life is too short, after all, to be taken so seriously over a heaping helping of Pop's Potatoes or one of his colossal cinnamon rolls dripping with gooey goodness.

"One of the things we try and do is accommodate our customers," Doug said. "Our food is fair priced, and we give a full plate."

Because of this, as well as its convenient location directly across Carson Street from the State Capitol and the Legislature, Mom and Pop's Diner has been the go-to place for the who's who of state government.

In fact, much of Mom and Pop's colorful history can be linked to the lawmakers who have frequented the diner during legislative sessions.

"I always say I'm going to write a book called 'As the Toaster Turns,' because of all the crazy things around here," Jamesa said.

There are just too many colorful anectdotes they've overheard, and even witnessed, at the diner during the biennial legislature, Doug said.

Stories aside, though, the talk of the Legislature is often where to go for breakfast and lunch. Mom and Pop's is usually at the top of that list.

"One of the things we like about our location is all the legislators we've gotten to know over the years at every legislative session," Jamesa said. "We always make sure legislators get their food as quick as possible and they really appreciate that."

To make things a little easier on the folks wrangling over politics across the street, Doug and Jamesa opened a deli inside the Legislature building in 2011.

It's still there, of course, and still satisfying the appetites of hungry legislative staff, lobbyists, and anyone else weary from a long day of lawmaking.

"We give them almost the same menu over there as we have here," Doug said. "And we give them the same quality."

Not to be outdone by his political customers, though, Doug has done more than kiss other peoples' babies.

He's held and comforted the crying infants of patrons, showing in yet another way why Mom and Pop's is a special home away from home for many locals and visitors to the Nevada state capital.

Doug said he has no current plans to expand the diner and its 1,200 square-foot dining room with seating for up to 50 people.

However, Mom and Pop's does have some exciting changes that are scheduled to take place in just a couple of months, the Cramers said.

Beginning June 1, Mom and Pop's will be sponsoring a Wednesday night farmer's market along their Third Street frontage.

Part of the downtown Carson Street reconstruction project calls for the permanent closure of Third Street to Carson Street traffic, making way for a walking plaza named after the late Bob McFadden, a local Carson City real estate professional who is credited with revitalizing Third Street and other parts of downtown.

Donations from the McFadden family have helped fund the plaza project on Third Street.

Construction of the Bob McFadden Plaza, in fact, has already begun and is expected to be ready for some events by June.

The farmer's market, held 4 to 8 p.m. every Wednesday from June 1 through October, will feature 30 produce and craft vendors, the Cramers said. And 90 percent of those will be from Nevada, they said.

Visitors will even find Jamesa in a space of her own, creating her artwork.

Mom and Pop's will also be open for dinner on Wednesday nights, a first for the restaurant. Once Bob McFadden Plaza is completed, Doug said Mom and Pop's plans to be open for dinner on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, too.

In addition to the farmer's market, the Cramers said there will be live music every night in the plaza, as well as a two-person circus to delight children and their families.

"The whole thing is geared toward families," Doug said. "It's what we are all about."