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<p>HANOVER TWP. &#8212; In 1975, Gerald Ford was president, Saturday Night Live debuted on NBC and the Eagles had a top selling hit with &#8220;Best of My Love.&#8221;</p><p>On the local front, Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant opened for business at 2333 Sans Souci Parkway. For 40 years, the Matyas family has served Hanover Township and the surrounding areas.</p><p>On Saturday, Austie&#8217;s customers and the Matyas family celebrated the anniversary.</p><p>Owner Alice Matyas said her family had surprises lined up for her and the customers. The restaurant had balloons and other decorations, and her family provided cake. Customers out to celebrate the day received a door prize &#8212; caps, shirts, calendars and bags &#8212; and were eligible to win one of five gift cards.</p><p>The restaurant is named after Matyas&#8217; father, Austin, but Alice was quick to credit others with the business&#8217; success, too. They included her daughter &#8220;who learned the ropes and books this year,&#8221; her husband who &#8220;cuts the grass and plows the snow&#8221; and, of course, her regulars.</p><p>Hunlock Creek residents Bill and Beth Pollock considered themselves &#8220;semi-regulars.&#8221; They eat at the restaurant &#8220;quite often,&#8221; they said.</p><p>Beth was content getting a cheeseburger on Saturday, but, even in the afternoon, Bill had a breakfast plate.</p><p>&#8220;They have the best breakfast in town,&#8221; Bill said. &#8220;They are one of the only places to serve breakfast all day.&#8221;</p><p>Matyas said her day begins early &#8212; 4 a.m. &#8212; as she commutes from Wapwallopen, a 30-minute drive, to open the shop. She will stay at Austie&#8217;s until after the lunch rush and go home, sometimes only to come back for the dinner rush.</p><p>&#8220;Business has been a challenge especially with all the new restaurants opening,&#8221; Matyas said.</p><p>But she has no plans to retire, move or expand.</p><p>&#8220;Small is simple,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Even the flood of September 2011 didn&#8217;t dampen her spirits. The family helped rebuild the landmark. The restaurant reopened in January 2012.</p><p>&#8220;I sat in the parking lot to receive orders (after the flood) and customers came and sat with me to keep me company,&#8221; Matyas recalled.</p><p>&#8220;Doing family things at the restaurant&#8221; is one of the best parts of the business for Matyas. But she said her favorite thing is &#8220;meeting the all the different customers.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Alice Matyas, right, talks to customers JoAnne Petrochko, of Exeter and her grandson Vincent Contardi, 10, left, of West Pittston after lunch in Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121315Austies1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Alice Matyas, right, talks to customers JoAnne Petrochko, of Exeter and her grandson Vincent Contardi, 10, left, of West Pittston after lunch in Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant on Saturday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121315Austies3-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Owner Alice Matyas and her husband, Richard, pose for a portrait outside of Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant, which celebrated 40 years of business in Hanover Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121315Austies3-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Owner Alice Matyas and her husband, Richard, pose for a portrait outside of Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant, which celebrated 40 years of business in Hanover Township on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121315Austies2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Alice Matyas walks behind the counter of her restaurant, which celebrated 40 years of business in Hanover Township on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TTL121315Austies2-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Alice Matyas walks behind the counter of her restaurant, which celebrated 40 years of business in Hanover Township on Saturday. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Restaurant marks milestone anniversary</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Melanie Mizenko</p><p>mmizenko@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>Austie&#8217;s Family Restaurant</strong></p><p>2333 Sans Souci Parkway</p><p>Hanover Township.</p><p>For more information, find the restaurant on Facebook or call the restaurant at (570) 735-5500.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Melanie Mizenko at 570-991-6116 or on Twitter @TL_MMizenko</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Hanover Township staple, Austie’s Family Restaurant, celebrates 40 years in business