By Matt Fredmonsky

Record-Courier staff writer

Kent city officials are hopeful to use the now vacant and decrepit diner at the corner of Erie and South Water streets for one more purpose before the wrecking ball strikes.

Councilwoman Heidi Shaffer, who represents Ward 5 residents and the downtown district, said she views demolition of what is commonly known as Jerry's Diner as a symbol for kicking off a new era of downtown development aside from the ongoing work of the Phoenix Project on East Main Street.

"This is one of the No. 1 issues people bring to my attention," Shaffer said.

The building's demolition, Shaffer said, would signal additional progress in redeveloping the city's struggling core. The vacant building is located within the block currently planned for redevelopment by the city in partnership with Cleveland-based Fairmount Properties.

The building's exterior is in a deteriorating state. Red paint is peeling off the wooden siding. Boards covering broken or empty windows are warped and pried up at the corners. The roof is sagging from water damage.

Inside, damage is still evident from a 1998 fire that blackened the tile behind the serving counter and scorched cabinetry and structural wood work. Broken glass crackled under foot.

Kent City Manager Dave Ruller, Shaffer, Kent Mayor John Fender and Kent Economic Development Director Dan Smith walked through the old building Thursday morning. Little remained of one of the city's most eclectic and popular eateries aside from some old stove burners, rusted silverware and salt and pepper shakers.

Ruller said razing the building would be a real symbol of progress in redeveloping the block bordered by Haymaker Parkway, South Water, Erie and South DePeyster streets.

The city took ownership of the building from the Ricciardi family this summer as part of a $827,000 deal for three properties in the block. But the city must wait, possibly until October, before it can tear down the old diner.

The city currently is having a blight study of the block conducted to determine the percentage of buildings within the block deemed blighted. State-defined Tax Increment Financing agreements will likely be used to finance part of the redevelopment project, and a minimum of 70 percent of the properties within the block must be defined as blighted in order for the city to receive more attractive TIF agreements, Ruller said.

"A vacant property is not blighted," Ruller said. "This is blighted. So if we tear it down now, it would eliminate one of the properties identified in the blight study."

Smith said the building is too dilapidated to be rehabilitated, so the city is planning to schedule one last, ceremonial cook out at the property as a send-off to the diner.

In June 1987, the Record-Courier reported the diner had been closed for three weeks when the building's owner, Judi Bray, decided to shut down because she was considering an out-of-state move.

The diner dates to the 1940s and became known as Jerry's after Bray's brother, Jerry Goodwin, bought it in 1970. The diner had operated under at least four other names, including Terry's Diner. It was known simply as The Diner before it finally closed.

Goodwin, a Ravenna attorney, said his namesake restaurant's 18 stools were busy 23 hours a day serving a mix of students, hippies, downtown business types and famous customers including pre-Eagles musician Joe Walsh.

Goodwin couldn't pinpoint any particular reason for the diner's staggering popularity.

"It was just time and place," Goodwin said. "We had good food and it was cheap, but a lot of places have good, cheap food."

Part of the former Kent restaurateur is saddened by the thought of the diner's demolition, but as a longtime Kent area resident he believes the city's attempt to redevelop the block could prove worthwhile.

"Of course part of me would be (saddened) ... but the truth really is that even when I got it, it was past its day," he said. "It was a great opportunity for a 22-year-old kid, and we made a lot of money and had a lot of fun, but it was falling apart then.

"We were greasy spoons, and our motto was 'Give grease a chance,'" Goodwin said. "So my final words would be: 'Rest in grease.'"