Catering couple closing their kitchens after 45 years
Bob Loutsion skipped the palm of one hand across the other twice, the international sign of “I’m done with this.”
He wasn’t angry, just weary.
“Will I miss it? Certainly not,” he said, steadfast but smiling. “We will miss the camaraderie, the people we know. But the hard work? No!”
For 45 years, virtually throughout their entire marriage, Bob and Tina Loutsion have run a catering business in Canonsburg. And over the past couple of decades, they’ve also operated a restaurant, or two … or three.
They have toiled nearly 24/7 on hundreds of weekends, missed events of their now-grown children, sweltered next to ovens and fryers, and endured burns and multiple surgeries to joints en route to satisfying a hungry public. Yet they are contented.
The owners of Loutsion Catering and Club Bistro II restaurant were set to close their businesses as of Dec. 31. They will take, and fill, holiday orders through that date, then “shut all of the doors” – as Bob put it.
Don’t assume for a millisecond, though, that they are retiring. That term is not in their lexicon.
“We are going to find something to do,” Tina said. “You need to have a purpose when you get up.”
Bob, who will turn 69 in December, and Tina, who will hit 63 the following month, simply want to give up their catering company in Canonsburg’s East End, on the hill above Sarris Candies, and their eatery in the Consol Energy/CNX building in Southpointe.
They have four grandchildren who will occupy some of that time. Their daughter, Noelle Gatten, wife of former football star Aaron Gatten, is the mother of three of them. Son Ryan has one child.
“Our grandkids are our lives,” Tina said. “We want to spend time with them.”
The Loutsions, who live in Peters Township, were newlyweds near the end of the Nixon presidency when they embarked on a food-service career. They did so with a serious mix of enthusiasm and trepidation, and required a healthy portion of trial and error.
“We were excited, we were nervous, we were scared,” said Bob, who grew up in Canonsburg, 20 miles south of his future bride’s home on Pittsburgh’s North Side. “We did party trays, easy things like chicken, cabbage rolls, pasta.
“Our first wedding, we made enough food to feed the 250 guests three times over. But the business grew, then blossomed. We started catering when no one else was. We catered in Pittsburgh, Ohio, West Virginia. No one had food like this.
“Now everybody has catering, everyone delivers.”
He added that they had a food truck in the 1990s, long before that dining dimension was in vogue. It was called California Quench, and featured smoothies and grilled chicken.
Tina and Bob have practiced their craft in a full commercial kitchen in the Canonsburg building they own. Their equipment includes two 10-burner stoves, two three-bowl sinks, a walk-in cooler, two deep fryers, two convection ovens and stainless steel tables and cabinets.
They once had three restaurants in Southpointe before eventually winnowing that to one. Club Bistro II has operated in the Consol building for about 10 years, where business has been generally good. The Loutsions specialize in preparing sandwiches, salads, breakfast items and chicken skewers in the back of the building, where about 500 work.
“We get a lot of walk-ins,” Bob said, “and we deliver throughout the park. There are a lot of corporate lunches. Call by 10 or 10:30 (a.m.), we will deliver your lunch by 11:30.”
Fatigue has been a common byproduct of their vocation. But the work has exacted an even greater toll on the couple. Bob has had surgery on both shoulders and both knees, courtesy of lifting and carrying heavy trays and performing other duties for nearly a half-century. Tina was badly burned by oil that dripped from a tray onto one of her arms. A mark from that mishap remains years later.
Yet despite the hazards, the trappings, the hours, the demands of a food-loving public, the Loutsions have had a largely satisfying career.
“The whole working experience has been pleasurable,” Bob said. “There have been days when we’ve complained and say we want to get out. But overall …”
Overall, it’s been as satisfying as a well-prepared meal.