Beth Yoder-Hartman
Owner and head cookTook over the kitchen from her parents in 2015 and still bakes the pies most mornings.
A bell that's been ringing since 1998
The Dinner Bell opened on Route 23 in 1998, in a building that had been a hardware store for thirty years before that. The bell above the door still rings every time someone walks in.
How it started
Founders Carol and Denny Yoder bought the old hardware store with a loan from Carol's mother and a secondhand grill. The name came from the actual dinner bell Carol's family used to ring on their farm when supper was ready; it hangs over the counter to this day.
Their daughter Beth and her husband took over the kitchen in 2015, kept the recipes exactly as they were written, and added the pie case that's become the thing most people recognize us for.
Why we publish our recipes
We've had the same recipe cards taped inside the kitchen cabinets for decades. Writing them out properly for this site in 2022 felt like the least we could do for everyone who's asked for them over the years.
House principles
1
Scratch, always
If it can be made in-house, it is, gravy included.
2
Pie every day
The case is never empty, and apple is never off the list.
3
Regulars by name
We still know most of our regulars' orders before they sit down.
4
Written down right
A recipe here is the one taped inside our own kitchen cabinets.
Who's behind the counter
The family and crew keeping the bell ringing.
Marcus Hartman
Co-owner and managerRuns the front of house and the catering calendar, and keeps the coffee pot full.
Denny Yoder
Founder, semi-retiredStill stops in most mornings for coffee and the occasional griddle shift.