Tap Room 32

Nov. 20, 2015

“Next door neighbor” takes on a whole new meaning for longtime restauranteur

ECLECTIC EXPANSION

Diana’s Delight was a popular downtown Gaylord restaurant with a 30-year history. When its namesake owner passed away, her daughter Kim Roney partnered with her father to take over the business. The result is the continued growth of Diana’s, with its California-style breakfasts and lunches, and now the addition of a second restaurant, Tap Room 32, conveniently located right next door in the very same building.

Roney has lived in several other states:

Florida, California and Nevada. She used to move back and forth every couple of years, but she decided to return to Gaylord for good in 2004, having accumulated a wealth of information about how to run a restaurant.

“I worked the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, The Cheesecake Factory in Fort Lauderdale, a bunch of independent places,” Roney explained. “Some places I worked as head bartender, some places I worked as manager.”

Her goal upon returning was to bring that experience to bear on both Diana’s original restaurant and a second establishment, as well.

SIDE BY SIDE

The first task on the expansion list was moving Diana’s Delight.

“We bought the building across the street from Diana’s old location — it used to be Nelson’s Drugstore — in 2010 and moved Diana’s there,” Roney explained.

They divided the building in half, situating the kitchen right in the middle to complement their future plans.

“It was always the intention to put a bar and grill on the other side,” Roney said.

When asked why she’d tackle running two restaurants, when one would seem enough of a task, Roney’s answer is as fastmoving as her schedule.

“I’m crazy,” she laughed. “But really, it was something people wanted downtown and, if I didn’t try it, I would’ve regretted it.”

Now sitting side by side, the restaurants move business from day to night via a carefully timed schedule. Roney cruises back and forth like a whirlwind between both restaurants, shifting focus from Diana’s breakfast and lunch crowd to Tap Room 32’s dinner and drinks customers.

is very pub-like in ambiance — lots of brick, a copper top bar and wood floors, with everything built to Roney’s specifications.

“This half of the building was just vacant, so we cleaned everything out and started from scratch,” she said.

With a soft opening in September and their full menu starting in early October, the new pub/grill is already proving to be a big local draw.

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

Tap Room 32’s menu focus is primarily small plates.

“This is so people can order several different things and then share,” Roney said.

“Our goal is to have people try a lot of different things.”

And there’s a lot to choose from; the menu is very eclectic and takes some flavor risks by pairing unusual seasonings. Some of the most popular dishes include French fries dusted with Parmesan cheese and served with truffle aioli (“those are really popular,” Roney said) and their chicken wings in Buffalo or Asian varieties.

Other menu standouts include baked goat cheese pomodoro, featuring fresh goat cheese, marinated tomatoes and pomodoro sauce, served with garlic bread; sweet chili tuna, featuring blackened tuna, spicy slaw, pickled cucumbers and ginger; and what Roney called Southwest egg rolls filled with chicken, black beans, corn, peppers, cilantro and three cheeses.

Their pizzas continue the unusual flavor combos, including their fungi pizza with roasted white cap button mushrooms, mascarpone cheese, spinach and bacon and their harvest pizza with zucchini, yellow squash, roasted garlic and lemon ricotta.

Add 21 craft beers, most of them from Michigan, and there’s something for nearly everyone. Now if Roney could just figure out how to get a day off once in a while.

“It’s a lot of work to run two restaurants,” she agreed, “but I’m thrilled with how well things have been going.”

Tap Room 32 is open Tuesday–Saturday starting at 4pm. Diana’s Delight is open for breakfast and lunch Monday–Saturday from 7am–3pm, breakfast only on Sunday from 8am–1pm. Both restaurants are located at 138 W. Main Street in downtown Gaylord. Find them both on Facebook or call (989) 732-6564.