This is an article published recently in the Garland Group comany newsletter. The Garland Group is located in nearby Freeland, PA and produces the ranges and stoves which are used in Scatton's kitchen.

In the small city of Hazleton, PA, just ten miles away from The Garland Group head-quarters in Freeland, there is a small restaurant called Scatton's.

It is a restaurant owned and operated by Suzie and Larry Dull, whose "reputation for the finest food and service is unsurpassed in the entire area," as it says on Scatton's menu. In addition to the best veal, seafood, and homemade pasta you may ever find, you will also find that the Dulls are also serving up consistency as the staple of every dining experience in their restaurant. It is this dedication to continuous quality and consistency in their food, their service, and your comfort which has made Scatton's one of the smallest restaurants ever to receive the DiRoNA Award.

'We're absolutely sure that we're the second smallest restaurant ever to receive the award," says Larry with a smile. "They say there's another restaurant in Carmel, CA, which may be smaller than us, but we'll have to took into that."

It is hard to believe that there could be another restaurant as small as Scatton's, which seats only 50 to 60 people, that can fit the criteria needed to win approval for the DiRoNA Award. DiRoNA, or Distinguished Restaurants of North America, is a nonprofit organization sponsored by companies interested in culinary and hospitality excellence, whose goal is "to preserve and promote distinguished dining throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico."

The DiRoNA was meant to be something like the North American version of France's prestigious Michelin Guide, and is undoubtedly the restaurant industrys most prestigious award. In fact, it is the only award that is based on criteria from an independent and anonymous 75-point derailed inspection process. The inspection emphasizes the quality of food and its presentation, examining the total dining experience from making the reservation to paying the bill. There are 599 DiRoNA Award recipients throughout North America, including the 67 restaurants that were inducted into the organization this year.

One of those 67 was Scatton's.

It was through a telegram they received on May 19, 1997 that Suzie and Larry discovered that not only had their restaurant been inspected by a single diner on March 30, 1996, but it had passed as a distinguished restaurant, standing out from all others and characterized by excellence in all facets of the dining experience. They were a complete success. So how did they do it?

Suzie and Larry both conceded that running a restaurant is very hard work- Larry manages the books, Suzie cooks, and they both are involved with the ordering. Their impressive staff is friendly and courteous, and their cooks are personally trained by Suzie. They all start as dishwashers and learn the business from there. But they are also a family who eat dinner together every day at 4:15 p.m. in the restaurant. They appreciate each other, they respect each other for the work they do, and in that way, Suzie and Larry manage their restaurant the way most people manage their homes.

Maybe that's why Suzie appreciates the Garland equipment that keeps her "Home fires" (or Starfires) burning.

Although she and Larry are the heart of Scatton's itself, "the heart of that kitchen is in that stove," Suzie said. She and Larry have had an excellent relationship with Garland for years now, and Suzie is quick to relate her success to her stove. "If I didn't have that high heat, I just couldn't prepare the dishes properly." The food cooks more beautifully and much faster, so much so that Suzie thought it made the old stove they had look like it was stewing. Larry laughed as he remembered when they first got the new 24,000 BTU ten-burner stove and it threw off the kitchen production because the entrees were moving through the process too quickly, and they had trouble with the side dishes keeping up.

Suzie and Larry are also quick to commend their Garland broiler. "We sell many, many steaks here, and when people ask us how we get them done to such perfection, we always attribute it to the quality of the meat and the power of our broiler."

Because Suzie and Larry Dull have already established the quality of their food, which is the freshest and the finest, they now strive to add to their value, presentation, and service - and Garland is helping them do it. "We are blessed to have the knowledge and the talent needed to prepare award-winning food," said the Dulls, "and Garland gives us the power to produce it."

The DiRoNA award is awarded to selected restaurants which retain the recognition for three years (as long as the restaurant ownership does not change hands). Scatton's was reviewed for the award in 1996, and accepted the recoginition at the annual banquet in 1997. The restaurant was again reviewed in 1999 and is proud to say that the DiRoNA recognition will continue for another three years. More information on DiRoNA can be found on their website at dirona.com.