What does hope look like? For our family, it looks a lot like Johnny’s Bar on Fulton Road in Cleveland, Ohio.
Like most people, you might be wondering, why there?
The summer after their graduation from Parma High School in 1956, Patricia Ann Schreiber and Richard George Slavik were married. In the years that followed, they brought five sons into this world. Sometime before that—around 1954—they had their first date at the iconic restaurant on the corner of Fulton Road and Trent Avenue, just down the street from St. Rocco Parish and a short drive from St. Ignatius High School, where our son Jordan later attended.
My wife, Peggy, and I had one of our early dates at Johnny’s in the summer of 1983. Pat and Dick Slavik could never have imagined that seventy-five years later, their sons and our wives would still be gathering at the same place.
Johnny’s may be small, elegant, and known for its incredible service and food, but for us, it’s more than a restaurant—it’s the backdrop of our family’s story of hope. Over the years, we have celebrated milestones there, mourned the loss of loved ones, and entered new seasons of life. My brothers and I have been blessed to remain married to the same women we began our journeys with, and all of our children—despite their triumphs and challenges—are successfully finding their way through life.
Hope, to us, is four very different brothers—with different political views, professions, life goals, and perspectives—who can navigate disagreements with respect and grace. It’s the ability to look beyond the noise of the world and simply enjoy a great meal together. The famous stuffed peppers, calamari, and bananas foster only added to a wonderful evening spent with my brothers and their incredible wives.
Never forget: family matters far more than the noise of society’s issues—noise that will still be here long after we’re gone. With a bit of luck, our children will one day gather at that same small restaurant on Fulton and celebrate the gift of family, just as we do.
