Owners of Gene’s Place, Gene Lavelle and his wife of 62 years, Peggie McNamara Lavelle, histories go way back in West Park. Gene, the middle child, grew up with siblings Frank and Toni on West 126th Street, attended St. Vincent De Paul Grade School, and graduated from West Tech High School. Gene’s father, Frank Sr, worked at the Gas Company. His mother, Rose, worked at Luigi’s Pizza, located at 16020 Lorain Avenue, next to Fischer Foods, until her son Frank, opened his family’s own pizzeria. Named Rosina’s Pizza Shop, Gene states, “it was the first pizzeria to open in Lakewood.”

Peggie McNamara Lavelle, who grew up a street away from Gene’s family, also attended St. Vincent De Paul Grade School with her sister. They graduated from St. Joseph Academy. Her family lived on West 125th Street. The neighborhood park, Mohican Park, within walking distance, was where Gene and the neighborhood boys would play pick-up games of baseball at the ball diamonds. Peggie and her sister would sit on their porch to watch the goings of the park and the people walking by their house. All it took the former classmates from St. Vincent De Paul school to connect was a walk by Peggie’s house when Gene was 16 and Peggie was 15 and the rest is history. The couple married at St. Vincent De Paul Church in 1957 when Gene returned home from Germany from serving with the United States Army.

Since the family was no stranger to owning and working in a restaurant, when the chance to purchase an up and coming franchise arose, they took the risk. The Perkins chain was established in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the 1960s, the chain expanded as a franchise. Gene and Frank invested in the Perkin Pancake House franchise in June of 1963. The brothers opened 4 locations, West Park, West 117th Street and Berea Road, Dover Center Road in Bay Village, and Parma Heights on Pearl Road. In the late ’70s, the Perkins franchise was consolidated with their other chain, Smitty’s. Then in 1979, Perkins became wholly owned by Holiday Inns, Inc. Perkins became Smitty’s for just a few months before Gene and Peggie took over sole ownership of the West Park location. Gene and Peggie officially changed the name to Gene’s Place in 1982.

Gene and Peggie have four children -two boys, Gene and Vince, and two daughters, Jennifer and Laurie, four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The whole family is involved in the day to day business of Gene’s Place. Jennifer and Chris Woost man-age the kitchen, Laurie is the hostess and bookkeeper, and her husband, James Gladys, is a cook. Daughter-in-law, Carol was a hostess. Their three grandsons, Gino Lavelle, and Laurie’s sons – Nick and Justin Farris are cooks and servers. Gene joked, “I think I employed at one time most of Cleveland’s teenagers from 1963 to date.”Gene’s Place has been a tradition for generations in Cleveland for over 57 years. From the church pews in the lobby to the movie stars of the past adorning the walls, Gene’s Place is the place to meet in West Park. The cornerstone of Kamm’s Plaza can hold up to 260 people. A party room is available. Gene’s Place is open 7 days a week and serves breakfast all day!
3730 Rocky River Drive, Cleveland, OH 44111 | 216-252-1741