By Mike Simmons, staff writer

EMMONS &8212; People have heard about it in Canada, Oregon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa. They even know about it as far away as Germany.

No, I&8217;m not talking about a professional wrestler getting elected governor of Minnesota. I&8217;m talking about the Family Tree Restaurant in Emmons.

Of course, Family Tree owner and operator Renate Lamb will tell you those are mostly relatives, but word did spread all the way to Pennsylvania via word of mouth about the home cooking and small town hospitality that can be had at the Family Tree Restaurant.

Renate and her husband, Gary Lamb have owned the Family Tree Restaurant for the past 11 years and for now at least, couldn&8217;t see themselves doing anything else.

&8220;The previous owner wanted to sell it because of bad health and we just didn&8217;t want it to be closed so we bought it,&8221; Renate said. &8220;We owned the grocery store down the road but it wasn&8217;t doing so well so we decided to get into the restaurant business and have been going strong since then.

&8220;Times have changed a lot over the years for small towns, you don&8217;t bring eggs into town and trade them for goods any more, that and with the Super Wal-Marts, it was just too hard to keep it going. We originally bought the Family Tree for our son who was a cook in the Navy at the time, but he eventually said no that he would rather be a trucker so here we are.&8221;

Small business owners, and in particular restaurant owners in small towns are in it for more than the money, or they wouldn&8217;t stay. These people have a strong sense of community, they look at it as something that has to be done so why not them. And in the case of Renate and Gary it is no different.

&8220;People have to have a place to come, and besides that you feel like part of the family,&8221; Renate said. &8220;If something happens at the restaurant, you feel like you are letting the whole family down and you just don&8217;t do that. But people here have been real tolerant in those cases, like last year when I hurt my hand, most people would just get up and serve themselves their coffee. You only get that in a small town.

&8220;There are some mornings that I don&8217;t feel like getting up, but we have people that depend on us so you have to do it. But even on those mornings, once I get here and the customers start coming in I&8217;m glad I&8217;m here. It&8217;s actually a reason to get up and get going even if I don&8217;t feel like it. People have their routines and they even have their own chairs. They can sit in the same place, but if you move their particular chair they know it right away.&8221;

It&8217;s more than just the locals that stop in for Renate&8217;s cooking. As in any small town there are always construction workers and people just passing through looking for something other than the same old fast food restaurant.

But if you happen to stop by the Family Tree Restaurant for a bite to eat and are seated alone, Renate says not to be surprised if some of the regulars invite you to join them because it happens all time.

&8220;We actually get people from Oregon, we have had bikers from as far as Alaska stop by for a bite to eat,&8221; Renate said. &8220;I like to say that we are known worldwide, which in a way we are.&8221;

The Family Tree Restaurant is open for business Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. but don&8217;t just expect your typical breakfast and lunch menu. For one, you won&8217;t find any frozen hamburger patties in this restaurant. They are handmade the same with the chili.

The Family Tree also serves hamburger steaks, chicken fried steak, roast beef and mashed potatoes, sirloin steaks and even shrimp. It also has daily specials, like biscuits and gravy every Friday and Saturday morning that has been a big hit.

&8220;If we ever considered selling it, there would have to be an agreement that it stayed the way it is, it needs to stay a family restaurant,&8221; Renate said. &8220;We don&8217;t even consider ourselves the owners, the customers and the community own it. I just think that&8217;s the way it should be, and I hope it always will.&8221;