Ridgewood Inn

and Jeffrey and daughter Erin have owned and operated the Ridgewood Inn, one of the oldest continuous establishments of its kind in the city. Mike runs the bar, while Peggy and Erin cook in the kitchen. Their Friday night fish fries are legendary, and during Lent, the line can sometimes go out the front door onto Ridge Road. Peggy makes homemade cole slaw and pierogies that are some of the best you'll ever taste. The Ridgewood Inn opened Jan. 1, 1949, according to Mike, and the Shaerban family bought the business in 1977. Mike's father, George, was an integral part of the business until his death in 2005. Peggy now lives in Brooklyn, but for most of her life, the family lived on Brooklyn Avenue in Old Brooklyn. Even with her hectic schedule at the Ridgewood Inn, she still finds the time to volunteer at St. Patrick's Church on Bridge Avenue in Ohio City, University Hospital Parma Medical Center and the Cassidy Theatre. Mike refers to his mother lovingly as "Mother Dearest," and with the business open six days a week, he said his mother is on duty "quite a bit." Over the 38 years, regular customers brought their families for Peggy's fish fries."Now," Mike said, "we have grandparents bringing their grandchildren for the same meal they enjoyed back then on the same mismatched plates that we use today."