rachelh@myweeklysentinel.com
CANTON — Janette Walters has always had a passion for cooking.
In 2000, she brought that dream to life when she opened the Chatterbox Restaurant, located at 27 Lycoming Street in Canton.
“It started because I was out of work and I decided to give myself a job,” said Walters, who has always lived in the Canton area. “I’ve always cooked, you know, for big family gatherings. In my family everyone cooks, so everyone brings something,” she said.
The Chatterbox has its name because Walters felt she wanted to be a community hub for socializing and good food, and of course, always having the morning coffee. Her “regulars” typically come in between 8 and 10 a.m. every morning. or noon-1:30 for lunch.
“We were hoping for an atmosphere where people are always just sitting and chatting with each other, you know, the ‘murmur of the crowd’ type of thing,” she said. “So we went with that name and it’s worked out, because we have a lot of people who come in and that’s where they see each other, friends, neighbors, they meet there.”
Hours are from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day.
However, The Chatterbox serves breakfast all day. Why? Because that’s what Walters likes to cook! She says it’s also accommodating to people who work different shifts.
“I love to cook breakfast,” she said. “Anything from breakfast is popular.”
They make anything from bacon, sausage, eggs, omelets, pancakes, french toast, waffles. They even make their own bread for their homemade toast.
“Lunch is sandwiches, burgers, salads, chicken dinners, the usual stuff,” she said.
On Friday evenings, The Chatterbox is open for dinner.
“Dinners are anything from steaks to chicken and fish on Friday nights. We do fish and Mac n cheese as a special.”
Walters says she gets a lot of orders for burgers.
“It’s all fresh ground beef and we press it out by hand,” she said. “We don’t buy frozen. We make our own. That’s the key. Everyone tells us how good they are.”
There’s always a daily special at The Chatterbox. Wednesdays are always chicken and biscuit days. “Mondays we alternate between meatloaf or hot roast beef sandwich,” she said. Tuesdays are burger days. Saturdays and Sundays are for breakfast.
COVID has changed things for the restaurant, but Walters says she does offer take-out for those who are not comfortable sitting in the restaurant.
Walters has two grown children, Brandon and Halley, with her husband, John, whom she’s been married to for 36 years. She says that even though her job is to cook, she still goes home to cook because she loves it that much.
And her customers love her cooking too, so much that she’s even featured in a local author’s book.
“The girls from the thrift store will refer customers over here after they’re done shopping,” she said.
Walters says her favorite aspect of the job is meeting new people that come in and talk to her.
“Finding out where people are coming from. People come into town from everywhere, so it’s nice to see how far people are traveling and finding my place. Some of them even say ‘oh, next time we’re in town, we’re definitely coming back.’ That’s always great to hear.
“The food is fantastic, cheerful staff that remember you and what you like, and you can’t beat the prices,” said Jenn Kropf.
It’s been five years since they bought the building and made it into their small family restaurant with good home-style food and a mess that you’ll love to clean up!
For more information or to find a daily special, call 570-673-3804, stop in at their location at 27 Lycoming Street, or find them on Facebook.