Celebrating a half-century of success in the restaurant business is no small feat.
Making that feat all the more remarkable: the product itself and the procedures used to bring it to the table have not changed in that time, and 10 percent of the work force has been on the job more than 30 years.
Zel’s Great Roast Beef celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. It has four locations in the region — East Chicago, Hammond, Crown Point and Schererville.
“We still use only 100 percent USDA choice beef. And it’s a two-day process to prepare it for our sandwiches,” said Bob Shah, Zel’s spokesman and one of four owners. “We have not changed our preparation method or the quality of our food. Why fix it if it’s not broken?”
In addition, the company logo has stayed the same, and customers know Zel’s by its no-frills yellow buildings.
Darrin Nobles has been a loyal employee for 23 years, the last 15 at the Hammond site.
“I’m proud to be part of this celebration,” the meat manager said. “It’s no surprise we’ve been around for 50 years. People love us, and so many are repeat customers.”
Nobles’ sister, Tori Pugh, is another longtime employee — she has logged 34 years working many positions at various Zel’s locations. She currently manages the Hammond restaurant.
“Our customers are like family,” she said of the many repeat visitors. “They know our names and we know theirs — and their children’s names.”
Twenty-five-year employee Vernita Youngblood, who works at the original Indiana Harbor location, echoed Pugh’s comments, adding “We have some customers that come every day. We know what they will order as soon as they walk in the door.”
Zel’s opened in the spring of 1965, when Stanley and Faye Routman opened the doors in a small yellow building at the corner of Columbus Drive and Euclid Avenue in the Indiana Harbor section of East Chicago. The new restaurant was named after a family member.
Servicing not only the surrounding neighborhood, the Routmans also welcomed hundreds of workers driving past on their way to the local steel mills and oil refineries. The business began a reputation of quality food that filled a niche for a great roast beef sandwich.
That original location at Columbus Drive and Euclid Avenue is as popular as ever, according to Zel’s general manager Tim Berkley, also one of Zel’s owners.
“People love our food so much that they travel here from all over,” he said. “Even those visiting from out-of-town make time to stop.”
After the first Zel’s opened, a second East Chicago location was placed on north Indianapolis Boulevard near Columbus Drive in the mid-1970s. It was there about nine years before closing.
Next up was the Hammond location in 1983 on 169th Street, where it still stands today.
In the late 1990s, a Merrillville Zel’s, near Southlake Mall, enjoyed a good run until a fire destroyed the building in 2011. It was not rebuilt at the site.
In 2001, Cline Avenue in Schererville was chosen as a new spot to conduct business, and Crown Point followed in 2002.
Another Schererville location — on Indianapolis Boulevard that began in 2004 — recently was torn down, making way for a business building after the property was sold as a beneficial real estate transaction for Zel’s, according to the owners.
The Routmans managed the Zel’s Great Roast Beef locations until 1998, when they began to think of retirement and put the business and its properties for sale. They have since died.
Shah, a local real estate broker, and businessmen Tom Collins of Luke Oil and Hobart businessman Don Jelnik decided to give the food business a try and made the purchase.
Currently, there are four owners — Burkley, Shah and Shah’s daughter and son-in law.
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Berkley said he thinks he knows the reason for Zel’s years of success: “We are like gourmet fast food.”
If you go
Zel’s Great Roast Beef
East Chicago (Indiana Harbor)
Columbus Drive and Euclid Avenue
219-397-6167
Hammond
6901 Columbia Ave.
219-845-0433
Schererville
7889 W. Lincoln Highway
219-864-1011
Crown Point
801 N. Main St.
219-226-9850