Family Restaurant

By the summer, patrons at a new and expanded Harry's Main Street in Westminster will be able to order a beer with their chili dogs or an Irish coffee after dinner.Owner Harry Sirinakis was granted a liquor license last week by the county's Board of License Commissioners, but the license won't take effect until after a planned $540,000 expansion and renovation of his West Main Street restaurant."We're not a bar -- we're a family restaurant -- I'm a family man," said Sirinakis, 37 and the father of three, not counting the restaurant that he likens to a fourth child.

When Shirley M. Lombardo worked at the Haven Restaurant, most patrons were greeted by name and each would get a decent meal.But what they mostly got was an earful of conversation from Mrs. Lombardo."

Demographics, demographics, demographics: If you have them, they will build.In the past year, five national restaurant chains have picked sites for casual dining within a few miles of each other along busy Route 140 in Westminster.The first one, Ruby Tuesday, opened in April and business is better than expected, said Patricia Corbin Banks, general manager. "We've done well in the surrounding area -- and are really doing well here."Still in the works are:Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, under construction beside Weis Market and scheduled to open Nov. 11.A Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon at the old Sizzler restaurant, which is being renovated and is expected to open in October.

Terri and Bill Coleman, proprietors of the venerable and eccentric Wilhelm's Restaurant on Wilson Point, finally succumbed.After 60 years of family members serving sizzling steaks and legendary crab cakes, they caved in three years ago -- and installed air conditioning."

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A 12-year-old boy who was kidnapped at gunpoint Nov. 27 from his Connecticut home was found unharmed early yesterday in New York City by law enforcement officials and returned to his home in Meriden, the FBI said yesterday.But the case was far from closed, as the authorities continued to search for the two Asian men who had carried the boy, Wei Yang, out of his home without a jacket, shoes or socks after tying up his sister and mother.The FBI's Connecticut office, which is handling the investigation, was unusually secretive about the case, saying that the release of any additional information could jeopardize the investigation.

The Bob's Big Boy Family Restaurant on Dobbin Center Way in east Columbia is closing today.The manager and other employees directed all inquiries to the restaurant's owner.But calls to the owner weren't returned yesterday, so it wasn't immediately known why the family restaurant is closing. A large white sign in the restaurant's entrance spread the news to visitors yesterday afternoon. It read: "This Big Boy will close operations at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, 1996."

Fans of Poulet USA on York Road shouldn't spend too much time mourning its closing. A new Poulet opened in the Towson Town Center food court two weeks ago selling the popular rotisserie chicken. It's not a full-service restaurant as was its predecessor down the road. But owner Jonathan Soudry felt that Poulet simply didn't work as a sit-down eatery. "I realized too late," he says, "that a family restaurant needs more variety, and my concept works better when people can see the food as it's being prepared."

Joseph "Buddy" Chiapparelli, owner of Chiapparelli's Restaurant in Little Italy, died Friday of cancer at his Roland Park home. He was 66.For more than 30 years, Mr. Chiapparelli was proprietor of the family restaurant at 237 S. High St. that serves Neapolitan and Northern Italian dishes.Noteworthy guests included President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, baseball Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson and football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas.Mr. Chiapparelli took over operation of the restaurant in 1960 from his father, Pasquale Chiapparelli.

After a five-year absence, Maria's Restaurant on Mount Airy's Main Street is back in business.Owners Dave and Lydia Brocato reopened their family restaurant three weeks ago with a few changes, including a revised menu and some nods to 90s health concerns, including a no-smoking rule.The Brocatos say business has been good, with many old customers coming back."I can't tell you how many people I've seen that used to come in five years ago," Mrs. Brocato said.The Brocatos closed Maria's in 1989 to spend more time with their three children.

Three "country boys" from Baltimore have gone to Carroll County to find out if their style of country cooking will be successful in a rural setting.In the city, at least, their style has already hit it big."I'm a private school boy, but I've always been interested in country," said Shawn Connacher, who expects to open Stables, an American family-style restaurant, with Christos Dardaminis and Angelo Epitropakis this month."That's the only kind of music there is anyway," said Mr. Dardaminis, who ran the Club Stabiles in Highlandtown for almost 30 years.