Most likely the exact same booth.
Hyde’s Restaurant has not changed much since the sisters’ grandpa, Lloyd “Hub” Hyde, founded the diner 79 years ago, or in the decades their dad, Mick Hyde, headed the operations until stepping back after treatment for colon cancer. Keeping the yesteryear atmosphere — especially the wood paneling and laminate booths — is intentional, said Hyde-Kaiber, calling it “a nod to our history.”
“We have so many people who have come in for decades, and they have brought in new family members, and they sit in the same spot because that’s where they sat with their grandpa or their dad,” she said. “And they want to sit there.”
Hyde’s is where “court” is held in different corners of the dining room, whether it’s city or county officials discussing important or not-so-important business, or a group of old-timers talking about their glory days.
Credit: Hyde's Restaurant/Provided
Credit: Hyde's Restaurant/Provided
“What we tell our young employees is that our customers are from every walk of life,” said Hyde-Tuley.
Though the sisters have been running the restaurant for more than 20 years, some days, it feels like they’re winging it.
“We might sometimes go backwards and we might mess up, but we’re still just figuring things out,” said Hyde-Klaiber, 52.
The COVID-19 pandemic really forced a change in how people eat, for the most part, they said. But before the pandemic, a cultural difference in how people eat was starting, Hyde-Tuley, 55, said. Fewer and fewer people were of a generation that grew up eating home-cooked dinners at home.
“The people our ages, we are the last of the Mohicans of that,” she said. “Coming to a sit-down meal with regularity at a little place ... was not the norm, but Hyde’s was successful, being packed on a Friday or Saturday night, because it felt like home.”
Though they have pivoted multiple times in recent years, competing in a growing Hamilton dining market, places like Hyde’s have found a space in what they call “in between two worlds”: diners who dress up for a fancy meal and those looking for fast and convenient bite.
“I think we have a heart of gold, and I think that is our strength and our long game,” said Hyde-Klaiber.
Known for their homemade meatloaf, pan-fried chicken and any one of their nearly dozen pies served daily, they serve ”slow food in a fast world,” said Hyde-Tuley.
The sisters said places like Hyde’s do struggle amidst new competition because “we’re not brand new with sparking things and sparking landscapes and outdoor areas,” said Hyde-Klaiber, adding they would eventually like to make over the restaurant’s exterior.
In the past several years, restaurants like Agave and Rye, Tano’s Bistro, the relaunch of All8Up, and the Forklift and Palate have given more dining options for Hamiltonians and visitors.
“We’re not looking to climb any mountains here, but to stay in a forward momentum,” Hyde-Klaiber said.
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