Kate’s Carryout, located on state Route 125 west of Bethel, has been a fixture in the community since 1949.
The business, which has been a family operation for three generations and is now celebrating its 65th anniversary, will be closing its doors at the end of this month.
Diane Hancock, who also operates a catering business from Kate’s, runs the carryout with her mother, Mary Hancock.
“I’m 62 and I don’t want to work forever,” Diane says. “Right now, I just want to carry on with my catering business.”
Mary Hancock, who is now 86 years old and still works every day, says she too is looking forward to retiring from the business where she’s worked since 1974.
“The way it is now, we can never do anything together because when I’m here she’s somewhere else, and if I’m somewhere else, she’s here,” Mary Hancock said.
Mary said that even after 40 years, she opens the store and 8 a.m. every day. She works for two hours, and goes home when Diane gets to work. She comes back in at 5 p.m. every evening, and closes up the store at 9.
“I just didn’t want to sit down over at the house and do nothing,” Mary said.
She said that in her retirement, she is looking forward to taking some day trips with her daughter.
Diane’s grandparents, Jack and Kate Eilers, wanted to move out to Clermont County, so they closed their first store, which was located on Race Street in Cincinnati, and opened Kate’s Carryout near Mt. Holly in 1949.
Her grandmother was from Lindale, and her grandfather grew up not far away on Fair Oak Road.
“This was a two lane highway when the store was built, and the closest grocery store was an A&P in Mt. Washington,” Diane Hancock said.
Diane said that her grandparents used to butcher their own meat in the store, and that after building on to the store in the early 1950s, they lived in an apartment in the building.
Mary Hancock said that in the early 1980s she installed the large coolers. Before that, cold products were kept in a refrigerated truck in the garage next to the store.
“Every time somebody wanted something we had to go outside to get it,” she said.
Diane said that after her mother’s long career, she will be remembered for here extravagant Halloween costumes – which have included Dolly Parton, a ‘Hooters’ retiree, a hooker, Frisch’s Big Boy, and a rock star – and for sponsoring many local sports teams. She said her mother sponsored Kate’s Master Batters for more than 25 years, as well as the Bethel-Tate Fire Department’s softball team, various women’s softball teams, and many kids teams.
“For many years, she sponsored five and six teams a year,” Diane said.
Kate’s Carryout will open for the last time on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Even after the carryout closes, Diane will be continuing with her catering business from that location.