‘Teldy’s Place’ is Open for Business

By Margo Frink

Caption: Shelly Denney is all smiles as she greets customers to her new diner on Route 5 in Canastota.

The first person you may notice when walking into Teldy’s Place is the woman behind the counter. Teldy or Red or whatever names you may have come to know her by. After all, she’s waited on hungry diners for more than 20 years.

Teldy is also known has Patricia “Shelly” Denney, and she opened Teldy’s Place Aug. 17. Denney said she’s “living her dream” of running her own diner.

“It’s actually a dream come true,” Denney said. “It really is.”

Denney said the dream was her grandmothers and her mother’s to run their own diner. Her mother also worked in the restaurant business.

“My mother is my inspiration,” she said. “She’s something special.”

You could say the entire restaurant management is a family affair with relatives coming and going, running errands, cooking and baking.

“Everything is homemade, right down to the tartar sauce,” Denney said. “We prefer it that way.”

Denney’s mom contributed her homemade biscuit recipe and prepares them daily. She also makes all the homemade cakes and cookies. And if customers decide to stop by at 5 a.m. the doughnuts are just coming off the grill. Each customer is treated to one.

Teldy’s Place is located at 2881 Seneca Turnpike (Route 5), just west of Canastota and right next door to Quality Hill Automotive. Denney said the place had been vacant for the past four or five years. She and her husband had looked at other locations, but the size of the diner was the perfect size for us, she said.

It took about two months to get the place up and running, Denney said. They purchased all new items for the kitchen and dining room. The only items that were handed down from the previous occupants are the green milk cans that were converted into stools that set in front of the counter.

Because Denney is a “Smurf” and cow collector, she decorated part of the dining room with Smurfs and cows and other farm collectables. She wanted to give it a country feel. Even the Smurf collection has country charm. And the family pitched in by recovering the dining chairs and making the curtains.

“It was fun doing this place,” Denney said. “It really was.”

If the décor doesn’t reel you in then maybe the food will. The menu consists of the usual breakfast items, eggs, French toast, omelets, sausage gravy over mom’s homemade biscuits along with other breakfast foods. Teldy’s offers lunch specials everyday and some of the favorites are meatloaf, chicken riggies, baked ziti, fresh haddock and club sandwiches. On Wednesday, diners will receive 5 percent of all regular menu items. She offers a special kid’s menu for breakfast and lunch and kid’s get a complimentary small beverage, chips or half order of French fries. Senior citizens can receive a complimentary coffee, small drink, chips or half order of French fries.

And every day there is a different soup on the menu.

“We’ve been having a ball,” Denney said. “The whole family helps out. And everybody’s greeted. They come through that door, everybody’s treated the same.”

Teldy’s Place is open Saturday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit www.teldysplace.com.

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‘Teldy’s Place’ is Open for Business

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