Nestled in the Village of Randolph, one establishment offers more than just a meal

Not too often do you find a restaurant that will sell you the decorations off the wall, or the table where you are eating.

There is a place in Randolph that will do just that, as well as serve you comfort food at a reasonable price.

Oregano’s Family Restaurant is an ever evolving labor of love for Lance and Tonia McAllister. They used the restaurant as a way to move back to her home region.

“The idea came from a way for us to move back to Western New York from Florida,” Tonia said. “I grew up in Mayville, but my grandparents live here.”

Sometimes things just fall into place. That’s what happened with Oregano’s, according to the couple.

“We came up every year for vacation and one year, just as a whim, we decided to stop in a local pizza shop to get something to eat before we left to go back to Florida,” Lance recalled. 

A relative of the couple owned the shop, but that became the catalyst the couple would need to find their way home.

“She said, ‘I’m going to sell it.’,” Tonia said. “For the next 24 hours, on our drive home, we talked about buying it, and we did.”

It was that decision that transformed the former Aunt Jane’s Pizza, and eventually what was once the Ben Franklin 5 and 10, into one of the area’s more unique restaurants.

One of the first orders of business was a name for the newly acquired pizza shop.

“McAllister’s Pizzeria didn’t really sound right,” Tonia said.

But an old favorite restaurant from Florida really had a ring to it. Naming their business in honor of the one they had loved so much, Oregano’s. 

As the business began to take off, it didn’t take long before the couple decided that they wanted to serve more than just pizza. Within the first year, the menu began to expand to more of a variety.

The expanded menu created a large learning curve for the couple. They were active in the hospitality industry when they lived in Florida, but had never really had much experience in food and beverage.

“I had worked as a cook for three years out of high school. That was the experience I brought here,” Lance said. “Minimal at best.”

The transition was one that kept the couple busy, especially Lance since he was the one that would be in charge of the kitchen.

“It was very exciting,” he said. “I was flying by the seat of my pants. I had never done anything to do with bottom line. We made some mistakes, and learned from them and pushed on.”

As the menu grew, the concept grew with it.

“We wanted to have a lot of comfort food and Italian,” Lance said. “We tried to work with the fewest ingredients possible, and to be able to make as many dishes with the same basic ingredients.

“If you can get one product, the best way to work it is that you can make more than just one dish with it,” he continued. “Most of our ingredients can function in three or four dishes.”

The restaurant has several styles of cuisine, all having  a unique dish that must be experienced.

 “Our Stromboli are the best in our pizza line,” Tonia said. “When you go into our dinners, everybody loves our pot roast. People like the chicken broccoli and Alfredo. We make all of our desserts here, and by far the favorite is peanut butter pie.”

The large majority of what is served in the restaurant is created there, but rural Randolph presents a challenge from time to time for the McAllister’s.

“We try to do as much as we can in-house,” Tonia said. 

“But being in such a small town, and just starting out as we are, it’s hard to make everything from scratch,” Lance added. “I would love to make everything from scratch.”

Food isn’t the only comfort item in the restaurant. Take a look on the walls. Everything is for sale on consignment from local Amish.

The décor of the restaurant was important to Tonia. 

“I really wanted to decorate the dining room with Amish goods,” she said. “I wanted something attractive in my dining room.”

Her solution was to find some of the local Amish that may be willing to consign some of their goods to the shop.

“I had some friends take me out to meet some of the Amish people,” she said. “At first, I met with a lot of negative attitudes, but a few gave me a couple things to see how it goes.”

The initial signs were good for the Amish and for Tonia’s decorating ideas.

“Before we even opened, I had sold almost everything,” she said. “I had to go back out and give them their money. Now, almost seven years later, we have around 35 consigners. We have different shops that we work with. It has been a very good relationship.”

The décor changes often, and that’s part of the design. 

The decorations change often,” Lance said. “There are different things on the wall all the time.” 

“I wanted to give the guests something different to look at while they are waiting for their food,” Tonia added.

There is bound to be an item that interests just about anybody that walks into the restaurant. Items range from  pot holders to quilts and lawn furniture. According to Lance, there has even been trellises in the place for sale.

Quilts range from $500 to $750 and can be bought right off the wall. If you like a pattern, color, or craftsmanship, just ask about the quilt. 

“We have sold about ten quilts since we opened,” Lance said. “That number may be higher. We have sent many people out to the Amish to order custom quilts.”

Randolph has given a different perspective for the McAllister’s, Lance said.

“I was born in New York City and grew up in Tampa, Florida,” he said. “In Florida, you might wave out the window once a month, but here you wave out the window every two minutes.”

The restaurant has a subtle flavor of the faith that keep the McAllister’s, and some of their employees, going.

“There is a Bible verse on the wall,” Tonia said. “We do have a verse on our menu and we play Christian music in the place. That’s an aspect of our lives that we have incorporated in our business, our faith.”

The McAllister’s said Oregano’s is a subtle ministry for them.

“We will not place a tract in the hands of people coming to enjoy a meal,” Lance said. “Our ministry is not ‘in your face.’ It has never been that way.

Not only does faith play into the success of the restaurant, according to the McAllister’s, but a couple of long term employees have made the place run smoothly.

“Kimmy (Finch) and Daman (Holland) have been with us since the very beginning,” Tonia said. “They take care of the place just as much as we do.”

Oregano’s is open Mondays from 7 am to 2 pm, 7 am to 8 pm Tuesday through Wednesday, and 7 am to 9 pm Thursday through Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays.