End of an era
Rudnick\\\'s Bar, longtime Marianna landmark, being razed
The last vestiges of an iconic restaurant in southeastern Washington County will be removed beginning in several days.
The memories, however, will endure.
Rudnick’s Bar, a popular dining destination for 36 years in Marianna, closed for business in 2018. Buildings for the bar, at 1143 Ten Mile Road, remain standing, but will be razed in early October.
Stephanie Higgins, daughter of Vince and Sue Rudnick, owners and operators of the establishment, said “it became a gathering place for generations of local residents. We had very reasonable prices, large portions and so many celebrations there. You could get an extra-large pizza for $6 and Wing Nights were very popular on Wednesdays.”
Her parents opened the bar in 1982 on a 120-acre farm that is still active, a spread featuring cattle and donkeys.
Higgins said the buildings being removed are extremely old. “My dad was born and raised there. When he was very young, it was a church and general store.”
She said she and her four siblings have had careers, but each was a diligent worker at Rudnick’s years ago. “I was there for 16 years,” Higgins said. The sister and three brothers are: Tonya Heckler, Chad Crile, Chris Rudnick and Charlie Rudnick.
Their parents, in their 70s, obviously established a laborious mindset. Vince Rudnick not only farmed, he retired from Emerald Mine in Greene County as an electrician. Sue raised a family while assisting with agrarian operations. And there was the bar, of course.
Local social endeavors abounded as well. “My parents were well known throughout the community for their involvement in charitable events and for volunteering to support local causes,” said Higgins, general manager of D&M Painting Corp. in Amity. She and her husband, Jon Higgins, are parents of three – Sarah and Anthony Holland and Skyelar McConn.
Janet Bockstoce was a 25 years-plus employee at Rudnick’s, where her spouse, Frank, a construction foreman, worked as well. Camaraderie was the byword there, she said.
“The people who worked there were family. They were not related, but still family.”
Bockstoce, a Lone Pine area resident, was a fixture in Rudnick’s kitchen. She said there was a generous mix of diners and that the restaurant was “usually crowded.”
“A lot of hunters would come in at lunch time, so we started to have more soups to go with what they were having. We had a Spaghetti Night once a week. Chicken and chops. Guys would come in, grab beers and sit and talk.”
She said participants and spectators in the “Anything That Floats” canoe race that had been an annual tradition on nearby Ten Mile Creek would roll into Rudnick’s afterward. “and hang out with everybody.”
(That event was canceled in 2019 because of severe storm and erosion damage along the banks.)
Wings were likely the signature selection. “Sue said one day that we would be making wings once a week. I told her that sounds good.
“They were such a hit that we had to keep making them. We did three dozen or four dozen in big tanks.”
After a target date for closure of Rudnick’s was announced for 2018, patrons responded as expected.
“The last six months were super busy,” Bockstoce said. “A lot of people came in for their last burger.”
The upcoming razing of the remains of Rudnick’s Bar is bittersweet, to be sure, especially for Stephanie Higgins, her family and the aforementioned “family members” not related to her.
“This isn’t just the demolition of a building,” she said. “It’s the closing chapter of a place where generations of local residents came together, and a chance to recognize two people who quietly gave back to the community for many years.”