America’s Family Diner named 2013 Woodland Business of the Year

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The first thing you notice when you walk in the door of America’s Family Diner is the vast collection of photos on the walls. Nearly 320 pictures of soldiers and veterans who’ve served from World War II to the present day decorate the entire dining room.

The second is the welcoming voice of owner Nate Chumley standing in the middle of the diner.

“Hey there, grab a seat and we’ll be right with you,” Chumley says through a wide grin.

By comparison to many of its neighboring restaurants, America’s Family Diner is rather quaint in size. With enough tables and chairs to seat 32 people at full capacity, it could be considered a detriment in a business that makes money getting as many people in and out of the door as possible.

Yet, as Chumley does his rounds to check on the customers he knows by name, he doesn’t seem concerned. It’s this level of atmosphere and familiarity that helped earn the diner the 2013 Business of the Year award from the Woodland Chamber of Commerce at their annual banquet on Jan. 25 in Kelso.

Opening in October 2010, the diner was started by Nate’s parents, Ray and Bernie Chumley, who’ve been residents of Woodland since 1994.

“Between my dad and I, we have about 65 years of experience in working restaurants,” said Nate. “We both got our starts with Denny’s and then branched off to Ruby Tuesdays, Red Lobster, Hometown Buffet and the International House of Pancakes.”

Having enough of being part of the corporate restaurant business, Ray wanted a place of his own close to home. He happened to catch the owner of the little building on Lewis River Drive as he was emptying it out into a U-Haul.

“It just happened to work out that he was able to buy it and since I lived in La Center, it was perfect for me, too,” said Nate.

Because they have so much experience with short-line, comfort food-style cooking, the diner’s menu is built around breakfast and lunch options, but with a twist.

“Everything is named after a family member,” said Nate. “We all have our favorites and everyone had a say in what went into the recipes.”

Not only did the family have input on the menu, but they also have a hand in preparing the food every day.

“Along with me and my parents, the whole staff is either someone we’re related to or friends we’ve known long enough to be family ourselves,” said Nate. “My best friend Matt is a line cook and we’ve known each other for 25 years. It makes for a relaxed work environment because we know each other so well and we can also motivate each other to get everything done during the day.”

What also sets the diner apart can be summed up in its motto, “Nothing from a can goes in a pan.”

“Everything we make is from scratch and our customers love that we don’t even own a microwave,” said Nate. “We’ve done this long enough to know what they want and not only is it easier to make, but it tastes better and is healthier. That’s a big part of why people come back.”

From a business standpoint, it’s also more cost-effective to buy and cook with fresh food than to rely on frozen and processed options.

“Where most restaurants get killed is in the food they order because the middlemen take a lot out in their markups,” said Nate.



In addition to the food, the diner’s ambience comes from the decor, which Nate admits came about entirely by accident.

“When we first opened, we had a couple of paintings on the walls and the pictures of me and my brother in our Air Force uniforms over the air conditioner,” Nate said, pointing them out near the far ceiling. “We just happened to get customers who either knew someone who served or did so themselves, so they offered to bring a picture in and we started putting them up.”

In the three years they’ve been open, Chumley has become very good at identifying when someone is walking into the diner for the first time.

“They always look down at the floor when they come in, and then they look up and see the pictures and their eyes all get wide when they see everyone,” said Nate.

A six-year veteran of the United States Air Force as a heavy equipment mechanic, Chumley was also part of the USAF Boxing team, carrying on tradition started by his father and brother Bernie.

“My dad started boxing on his own as an amateur and as Bernie and I grew up, we learned along with him,” said Nate.

Chumley’s brother is still enlisted in the USAF as an officer in the Space Command, though Nate can’t say what it is that Bernie does.

“Part of it is he can’t tell me, and part of it is I don’t think I’d get it if he could,” said Nate.

Four months ago, Nate and his wife of four years, Angel, took over ownership of the diner from Ray and Bernie. While Nate’s mother still manages the front of the house, taking and serving orders, Ray Chumley is nowhere to be found, but one thing is certain. He’s doing something.

“Even though he’s supposed to be retired, he can’t sit still,” said Nate. “Right now, he’s helping take care of a catering order we have coming up this weekend, but he usually calls me about 1,000 times a day making sure everything’s going OK.”

Unlike other catering services that have set menus, the Chumleys like to be flexible and provide what the customer wants for their occasion.

“We can do pretty much everything and that makes us pretty popular for everything from weddings to corporate events, anniversaries and parties,” said Nate. “We also supply catering to firefighters during the busy season when they’re fighting wildfires because we know they can use the support.”

Nate also works with the Wounded Warrior Project and the Oathkeepers as another way to support veterans. It has brought a bit of notoriety to the diner, but also a large foundation of support from around the entire region.

“Woodland is such a great community itself and everyone cares about helping each other, but I wasn’t prepared for what we got after we were burglarized two years ago,” said Nate. “When news got out, we had people coming from Seattle all the way to southern Oregon coming back up here and giving us money to help replace what had been taken. It was amazing and very heartwarming.”

In selecting the diner as the Business of the Year, Woodland Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Joyce Kleeb said it was a matter of how they approach their service and highlight their community.

“This family-run restaurant is staffed by the parents, children, and other family members as well as good friends who share the same commitment and values,” said Kleeb. “Alone, these things do not account solely for America’s Family Diner’s tremendous appeal, however. The food is delicious and a bargain.”

America’s Family Diner is located at 1447 Goerig St. in Woodland. Hours are Mon.-Sun., 6 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, call (360) 225-3962.