Central Illinois Gazette

Honorary Paul Damski Day in Champaign

Posted by: Tom Kacich

Saturday, March 31, 2007 8:49 AM

I just had my last meal at Carmon's, at least the Carmon's that so many townies have grown to love.

Today is Paul Damski's last day as owner, manager, cook, baker, prep guy and nearly everything else at this fixture in downtown Champaign. And it was a memorable day -- streamers, decorations, live classical music, special coffee mugs (courtesy of Tom Costello) to remember the day and a mayoral proclamation from Mayor Jerry Schweighart declaring today Honorary Paul Damski Day in Champaign.

That was followed by lots of picture-taking and many tears.

I have heard many stories in the past few weeks from Paul and from many of his customers -- of the 5-year-boy who went up to Paul and asked, "Why are you doing this to us?" to the man who said he's been coming to Carmon's for breakfast nearly every day for 14 years and said he cried when he heard Paul was getting out of the business to the man who mourned the loss of an old-time unpretentious restaurant where people could talk to one another, discuss current events and keep up on personal news.

It is a loss for many of us but I sure feel good for Paul Damski. He's going to be able to rediscover what life is like for those who don't have to work 80-hour weeks.

Thanks, Paul, for lots of good meals, and the opportunity to make new friends, pull tables together and have a lot of laughs -- sometimes even at your expense (and the Cubs'). Thanks also to the attentive wait staff. I hope everyone finds good jobs, although I fear you'll never have as good a boss as Paul.

Here's my column of a couple weeks ago about Carmon's ...


Eatery owner ready to relax


If hard work always translated into wealth, Paul Damski would be the richest man in town. Six days a week, he gets up at 12:45 a.m., gets to work about 30 minutes later and stays until about 2 p.m. And he's on his feet all that time.

But not much longer.

The owner of Carmon's, the oldest restaurant in Champaign-Urbana, is about to hang up his apron. He'll crack his last restaurant egg and brew his last pot of coffee on Saturday, March 31.

"My feet hurt," he joked.

"No, really, it's time. We still make money. I still enjoy it, but 75-hour weeks were a lot easier at 34 than they are at 54. And it's time.

"There are places across the street that I've never been to before. All these new places downtown, I've never been to them. We used to go to Minneci's (restaurant), our friends, once or twice a week. Now we get there every five years. That's going to be the first place we go out for dinner."

Damski and his companion of more than 23 years, Larry, have owned Carmon's (named for the original owner Carl Monen) since 1987.

Recognizing that they had a popular restaurant in a popular location, they didn't change much, including the decorations, antiques and trinkets on the walls. (He did, however, add plenty of Chicago Cubs memorabilia, including a life-size cutout of Sammy Sosa).

"When we bought it, people were saying, 'Why don't you do this? Why don't you do that?' And I was like, 'This place has been open for 40 years. It works.'

"It reminded me of the places in McHenry and Fox Lake, where I grew up, places like Bimbo's and the Bungalow Inn and Don's Old Bridge Tavern. They were just old places where everybody knew each other. The owner would be in there all the time and everybody would give him a hard time. That's the kind of place I grew up in. Those guys, to me, were cooler than doctors or lawyers or politicians. That's what we wanted here."

And that's what he got. Carmon's is a democratic place with townies and university types, young and old, gay and straight, conservative and liberal, even Cardinals fans. Get in there early enough on a Saturday morning, like my wife and I and our friends do, and you can pull a table or two or three together and solve all the world's problems over eggs, sausage, toast and coffee. Or you can sit at the horseshoe counter where Champaign Mayor Jerry Schweighart or council member Vic McIntosh often have lunch, tolerant of Damski's leftist leaning.

There are even customers inside Carmon's before it opens. "My dad (Hank) comes in around 4:30 and helps me peel potatoes and he sits at the counter and gradually the other guys show up and they sit in the dark and drink coffee and blow hot air at each other until I turn on the lights at 5:30. There can be anywhere from four to a dozen people in here before we open," Damski said.

Carmon's Drive-Inn first opened in 1947. In fact, while recently examining a 50-year-old city directory, I found that of all the Champaign-Urbana restaurants listed, the only other ones still around were Steak 'n Shake, McDonald's and Timpone's [–] and they were all far from their original locations. Only Carmon's remains at its original location at 415 N. Neil St. It even has the same phone number it had then.

"People who will come back into town for a funeral or a wedding or to sell property or for some other reason, they end up here because it's the one thing they remember that's still in its original spot," Damski said. "I think that's pretty neat."

Carmon's is about to come under new ownership [–] by Mike Nelson, a friend of Damski's [–] and will see some changes although the name will remain.

As for Damski, his plans are wide open, although he's pretty sure he's going to complete the bachelor's degree he came here to pursue 34 years ago and for which he is three hours short.

"I am going to take a month, maybe two, and get my body clock straight again. I've been living in a different time zone for 20 years," he said.

Beyond that, he's ready to join the rest of us [–] movies, theater, dining out, maybe even marching in the Independence Day parade. It'll be like coming alive again.

"I've really enjoyed this place. It's just been such a big part of my life. I like what I do. I like the people [–] most of them. But there's so much I want to do."

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