Emmy's German Restaurant legacy lives on in Fort Smith

A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the founders' last name. Emmy and Al Thome founded the restaurant.

It once held a spot as one of the most popular places in town, full of young couples on dates and families out for a special meal while surrounded by beautiful German-inspired décor and staff that made them feel at home.

The original Emmy’s German Restaurant has been closed since New Year's Eve 2004, but its legacy lives on through a family friend of Emmy Thome herself.

History of Emmy's

Emmy Thome was originally from Offenbach, Germany, where she met her future husband Al Thome in the early 1950s when he was stationed there with the military. The couple married in 1952 and soon moved back to Al’s home state of Illinois before moving to Fort Smith in 1960.

They opened their first restaurant in 1962 on North 11th Street before later moving it to an old Victorian house on North 16th Street where they lived upstairs while operating the restaurant downstairs. After a fire, the couple moved to a location on Towson before rebuilding and going back to the old building in 1971.

The Thomes brought Emmy's home country to Fort Smith through their cooking. She was the face of the restaurant and spent her time out front, while Al stuck to the back and cooked, said John Miller, a friend and former employee.

John and Dottie Miller were there on the last night of the original Emmy’s Restaurant on Dec. 31, 2004. They had spent many New Year's Eves at the restaurant, as both patrons and employees.

The end of Emmy's

“That last night was sad,” Dottie Miller, 64, said.

It all started when one day John Miller, 75, who is originally from New York, was intrigued by the idea of German food in Arkansas and went in. The intrigue quickly became a friendship.

John Miller, then in his mid-30s, would stay late, bringing up wine from the cellar and helping clean. What was supposed to be a free meal or beer here and there turned into a spot on staff.

“I was only going to do it about a month — 11 years,” John Miller said.

Dottie Miller started working in the restaurant as a waitress after she and John married in 1984.

“(Emmy) just loved everybody,” Dottie Miller said. “She would come out to the tables and sit with you and talk and sing German songs. She would go around the restaurant and sing in German.”

“That place was just so unique,” John Miller said. “It was a fun place and I think that’s why people came. They enjoyed the atmosphere.”

The silverware had wooden accents, there were beer steins and countless German options for beer and wine. They played traditional German music and Emmy would often sing it throughout the restaurant before stopping to sit at a table with a customer and chat.

She bought traditional outfits for both Dottie and John Miller to wear while there.

“Every time we went in there to eat, we ended up working,” Dottie Miller said.

The Millers didn't mind though. Their final shift at Emmy’s marked the end of an era.

Continuing a tradition

Joe Caldarera, owner of Taliano’s Restaurant in Fort Smith, purchased the recipes and rights to Emmy’s name in 2007. Caldarera had been friends with the Thomes since his college days, forming a friendship over the years as her restaurant was near the one his family owned.

Caldarera knew he could never recreate Emmy's restaurant and ambiance without her, but that they could recreate the food for the people of Fort Smith.

"She was one of a kind,” Caldarera said.

The second coming of Emmy's started in 2008, with special nights once a month featuring the original restaurant's menu, just inside Taliano's. Caldarera then opened Emmy’s full-time on April 15, 2009. While he said people in the community loved it, there was not enough of a demand to keep it open five to six nights a week.

So, Caldarera switched to Emmy's nights one weekend a month and did that for years before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, severely disrupting the restaurant industry. In Sept. 2020 as business slowly came back to life, Caldarera decided to make the nights more regular.

Emmy’s nights are now a weekly affair Thursday-Saturday nights at Taliano’s Bar. While it may not be the same as the original Emmy's there are still homages to her legacy throughout Taliano's, from the menu, to a painting on the wall and a framed photo honoring the original restaurant.

Emmy and Al Thome never had children, but the family they created in Fort Smith was long and lasting.

Both Caldarera and John Miller were a part of Emmy’s funeral when she passed away in 2007. They had all remained friends after she closed the restaurant. Al passed away in 1997.

The restaurant the Thomes' dedicated their life to was a special part of Caldarera’s and the Miller's life.

"We're proud to offer it and that we did know Al and Emmy,” Caldarera said.

Abbi Ross is the city reporter at the Southwest Times Record. She can be reached at aross@swtimes or on Twitter at @__AbbiRoss

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Emmy's German Restaurant legacy lives on in Fort Smith