Megan Boone, Katelyn Lusiak and Anthony Lusiak
All in the Family GASLIGHT DINER WELCOMES COMMUNITY WITH HOMEGROWN HOSPITALITY
them with their now-or-never moment as the dining room was closed, allowing them to still serve takeout pizza out of the kitchen When Mac’s Dough House came on the while renovating the entire dining room. Even market in October of 2018, Megan Boone when the governor allowed restaurants to and her ex-husband Anthony Lusiak open at 50% capacity, they stuck with takeout decided to purchase the business. Lusiak to continue the renovations, then ultimately studied at the Culinary Institute of America had to close everything from July through in New York, and following high school November in order to buy all new kitchen Boone had gravitated towards the restaurant equipment and put the finishing touches on industry, having worked as a bartender, the dining room. When they were finally ready server and manager. to open their doors as the Gaslight Diner, they were hesitant. “It was probably not the smartest decision in the world to just jump right in like that,” “The last thing we wanted to do was open Boone says. “The restaurant business is so and immediately get shut down again by hard.” the governor, but that’s what ended up Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing Photography Provided
Little did they know how hard it was about to get. When COVID-19 first emerged, they transitioned to takeout only, but with a dozen pizza restaurants in Jeffersontown, they quickly realized that was not going to be sustainable for them in the long run since they primarily sold pizza as well as mac and cheese. Prior to COVID-19, Boone and Lusiak, along with Boone’s husband Seth, had toyed with the idea of someday opening a restaurant that serves breakfast, since no such option existed in Jeffersontown. The pandemic provided
“These are their neighborhood friends, or it’s the senior center down the street who has brought everyone down for breakfast and they all know one another, so it just feels like this big family community,” Boone says. The Gaslight Diner kitchen staff makes fresh biscuits and gravy every morning, which are extremely popular since many places don’t make items from scratch. “It’s definitely a labor of love as they are not quick to make,” Boone says. “Some weekends we run out of biscuits and have to tell customers to give us 20 minutes so we can mix up dough and bake more.”
happening,” says Boone, noting that they opened on a Tuesday and got shut down the following Friday due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. They reopened, however, in mid-December.
Their breakfast bowls (fiesta, country, farmhouse and veggie) are also popular, and include seasoned home fries topped with sausage, bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, eggs and shredded cheese.
Located in the heart of the historical Gaslight Square in Jeffersontown, customers flock to the Gaslight Diner for food and fellowship. Boone maintains that it’s not uncommon for a guest to walk into the restaurant and stop at four tables to chat on their way to be seated.
“They are amazing,” Boone says. They also make an in-house Gaslight Diner sauce that goes on all of their burgers. People love it so much that they often request it as a side for their French fries or home fries.
6 / JEFFERSONTOWN MAGAZINE / AUGUST 2021 / TownePost.com
