Quarter century of coffee, cooking and conversation

LAKEVILLE — For 25 years, residents of Salisbury, Lakeville and surrounding towns have dropped into On the Run for coffee, a breakfast sandwich, or some conversation.

Founder Sandy Gomez, although no longer affiliated with the store, reminisced as she showed her scrapbook to a reporter.

"We made it on a British soap opera once," she said, pointing to a television screen shot. A coffee mug with the store’s logo is visible in the background.

Gomez started the business in October 1983 in a smaller, adjacent location. The store’s popularity grew, and so did the store, adding more employees, an expanded menu and moving to the bigger location.

Gomez sold the business to Becky Sherwood of Lakeville in January 1994; she subsequently sold it to the current proprietor, Brenda Sprague, in 2000.

Sprague has extensive experience in the restaurant business. She is a veteran of the Inn at Falls Village (16 years), the Cozy Corner in Amenia (11 years) and Chatty’s in Pine Plains (2 years) prior to taking over On the Run.

On a recent morning, frost was on the scarecrows sitting at the patio chairs. The regulars were inside, with all the tables full and the employees chatting familiarly with the customers. Sprague said the staff knows the habits of the regulars quite well.

"Your regular coffee, hon?" asked Shelly Klippel over her shoulder, already pouring.

And the store is aptly named. Two cars sat idling in the lot as their owners ran in for a bite. This reporter was able to ask a couple of questions and get a couple of names and an egg sandwich in about five minutes flat.

On the Run has four employees, said Sprague, all of them family.

"Well, except Shelly. But I’m sort of related to her through a second cousin, so I have to keep reminding her.

"And my mom comes in once in a while to help out," she added.

It’s the atmosphere, as well as the food, that keeps people coming back, said Sprague. And business is steady, although she has noticed a bit of a slump "in the last couple of months, definitely."

But rocky economic scenarios didn’t deter two men from a landscaping crew, wrapped up against the weather. They received their order, dropped a bill in the tip jar.

"See you tomorrow," they called as they left.

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