Monday, July 15, 1996
Stanley Burgers Still Sizzling
While some new offerings have been added to the menu, Stanley’s restaurant, founded during the Depression, remains a Dexter Street fixture
By JOHN CASTELLUCCI Providence Journal-Bulletin Staff Writer
CENTRAL FALLS - The old Bellevue Theatre, where you could see a movie and a newsreel for 16 cents is gone. So is Phil’s restaurant, torn down last week to make way for what city officials hope will be a post office.
But despite the changes that have swept Dexter Street, some things remain the way they were for decades. One of them is Stanley’s, a mecca for hamburger lovers, a distinction for aficionados of fresh-cut French fries.
Founded during the Great Depression by Stanley F. Kryla, a Polish immigrant, it was operated until 1987 by his son, John S. Kryla of Cumberland, who won a lottery.
Stanley’s is home of the famous Stanleyburger, redolent of onions and pickles and grease from a searing hot grill.
“Stanley’s is an institution,” said former Mayor Thomas Lazieh, a regular customer. “You see people in there who have been going to Stanley’s for 20 to 30 years.”
“I have a friend who visits from Michigan, who grew up in Central Falls,” another regular, Bob Champagne, 67, of Central Street said after eating lunch at Stanley’s with his wife, Norma.
“Whenever he comes, two things are on his list: Go downtown to Magee’s on a Sunday morning to have the Shore Breakfast and to Stanley’s for a Stanley Burger,” Champagne said.
The Stanley Burger is like no other hamburger in Rhode Island.
“When it comes out of the machine, it looks like a hockey puck,” said Greg Raheb, the owner of Stanley’s, adding that the meat is fresh-ground on the premises.
The hamburger is cooked on the grill with fresh-cut onions, which are squashed into the meat, giving it the distinctive look and taste of a Stanley Burger, Raheb said.For a long time, the Stanley Burger was the only kind of hamburger you could get at Stanley’s.
“You got it Stanley’s way or no way,” recalls veteran waitress Jackie Duval, 58.
But things have changed since Raheb, 34,a Bryant College graduate whose father was a member of the local business community, took over the restaurant. Now Stanley’s offers 15 other kinds of hamburgers, including a mushroom cheeseburger, a pepper cheeseburger, and a double bacon cheeseburger.
The menu also lists such diverse offerings as turkey club sandwiches – Raheb said the turkey is roasted on the premises – and “Quebec-style” French fries, soaked in brown gravy and sprinkled with melted mozzarella cheese. You ask for something at Stanley’s, you get it cooked according to your wishes. “I believe in that,” Raheb said. “They come here, they’ll get whatever they want.”
The ambiance hasn’t changed since the restaurant moved to 535 Dexter St. from the small store – four stools and a counter – it occupied next-door until the 1950’s.
With its distinctive brown awning and smoky interior, Stanley’s is still a gathering place for Rhode Islanders from all walks of life and vocations. Francis A. Gachen, the lawyer and state representative who is running for mayor of Cumberland, said it is not unusual to see doctors and lawyers as well as members of the world’s oldest profession in the place at night.
The restaurant gets big take-out orders from Hasbro and the Fire Departments in Lincoln, Pawtucket and Central Falls. Governor Almond was a regular customer when he was Lincoln town administrator, Raheb said. So was a Pawtucket mayor whom Almond, a former U.S. attorney, successfully prosecuted – Brian J. Sarault.
Providence Planning Director John F. Palmieri returns regularly to Stanley’s as does Gene Valicenti of Channel 10. And then there is Rose Michalski, 90, who walks to Stanley’s every day from her house at Madison Avenue and Central Street.
“I like to take a walk, straighten out my legs, because I have a problem,” she said the other day, sitting in the booth beside the cash register. “I don’t have hamburgers, but I do have grilled cheese and tomato, and tapioca pudding. Friday I have the chowder and clam cakes. They have delicious clam cakes,” Mrs. Michalski said.
Raheb bought the restaurant nine years ago, after John Kryla won a Lotto Bucks jackpot of $361,884 and decided to sell Stanley’s and retire. Raheb was 25 then, managing a big restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “I wanted something of my own that was unique. This place is unique.”
It took regular customers awhile to warm up. “I think when we took over they were a little bit leery,” Raheb said.
Prices have gone up, but the food is still cheap, starting at 99 cents for a Stanley Burger and maxing out at $6.65 for the lobster salad.
The menu has changed, too, but only because Raheb has added items such as clam cakes and chicken tenders, that he hopes will be popular. But the recipe for the Stanley Burger remains the same and service is still quick, even though everything is cooked to order, not prepared in advance as chain restaurants do.
“The only time people have to wait here is when we get bombarded, when the place fills up all at once,” Raheb said.
To hear some customers talk they don’t mind the wait.
“I love it,” said Bob Hanewich, 36, a construction worker who has been eating at Stanley’s since he was a youngster.
“Can’t beat this cheeseburger. Come down from Cumberland all the time,” he said.
