Rex’s Rendezvous Owner Robin is shown behind the bar.

By Shari Benyousky
Guest Columnist

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth column in the Dives and Diners series in which a small group of Warsaw Breakfast Optimist Club members and their guests road trip to explore the diners and dives of Kosciusko and the surrounding area.

WARSAW — I had driven by Rex’s Rendezvous at 204 S. Buffalo Street in Warsaw a thousand times without stepping inside, and my vague, uninformed impression was of a smallish place with live music on weekends and a great homemade meatloaf special. I had gathered this from the narrow restaurant front and from the signs plastered on the windows. I also knew they were one of the few places left where one could smoke inside, and that fact had deterred me from checking it out. This was a mistake.

We went on a Thursday around 11:30 a.m. No one was smoking and only a few single guys sat on stools at the very long bar. Alicia greeted me with an enormous smile. “Oh!” She winked. “We’ve heard about the Diners and Dives articles. Be sure to talk with the owner Robin. He has some stories about this place.”

Menu for Rex’s Rendezvous.

Alicia wore a black Rex’s shirt. “Why is there a train engine on the Rex’s logo?” First Source Banker Paul Finley asked as he settled himself around a six-top table and greeted Builder Charlie Wagner with a fist bump.

Alicia winked again. “Ask Robin.” She scurried off to fill drink orders. At first, she worked the entire place by herself. Yes, the entire place. I know, I know. I said that my impression was that Rex’s was a tiny place. My first error. Once you enter, you see how the polished wood floors stretch out like a ship’s galley. There must be seating for at least 100 people plus a very long bar. The walls are covered in beer mirrors, and a disco ball hangs from the ceiling amongst the 50s light fixtures. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air too. There’s even a copper railing that gleams down the entire northern wall to the pool table in the rear.

Warning

As you enter the front door, you step between two sides of a stage — empty on a Thursday afternoon, but I could imagine how vivid that must be if one entered while a band was already playing. So, keep an eye out for flying drumsticks if you arrive on a weekend evening.

The Wildcard

Our wildcard of the day, Cardinal Center Kyrie Maierle, studied the Rex’s menu. We needed her presence to lower our collective average age and make us more hip. She told our Keeper of the Diners and Dives list, Remax realtor Jeff Owens, “You absolutely need to put the Silver Lake Saloon on the list.” She adjusted the strap of her pink wristwatch while Waitress Alicia talked us through ordering the best things on the menu — the Robin’s Supreme pizza, a tavern sub called “The 8 Ball,” the Pork and Cow (ham and cheese), the meatloaf special, the pork tenderloin, and the Chicken Strip Basket. “Don’t forget to come back for breakfast sometimes too.” She put her hands on her hips. “We do a fantastic breakfast.” Off she went to get our food orders delivered.

Attorney Travis wonders where his Rex’s Pizza went while he was talking o the phone.

Attorney Travis McConnell picked up his cell phone. “What?!” he exclaimed. “Of course you don’t have to let it stay in the salt room.” Alicia returned with lightning-fast speed to deliver his deep-fried vegetables and pizza. He turned to the side to keep talking. “How did it get in there anyway?” Since he was occupied, we did him a favor by helping to eat his nice, hot food. I took a fried mushroom. Someone else took a fried cauliflower.

“His problem sounds serious.” Builder Charlie Wagner took a fried green bean.

When Attorney Travis kept talking, Remax Jeff took McConnell’s entire pizza with a shrug. “It was getting cold. No one should let one of these go cold. It’s a crime.”

Attorney Travis hung up and threw up his hands. “Can you believe it! Someone snuck a chihuahua into the salt room at Courthouse Coffee. Said it was an emotional support animal. What?! Is that legal?”

“Do you know any good lawyers to call and ask?” dead-panned First Source Paul. He held up a menu. “I advise you to say nothing. No comment!”

Attorney McConnell took the ribbing well. “Nope,” he said, just noticing that his pizza plate only had one tiny slice of pizza left. “There are no good lawyers in K-County. None.”

Robin Tells Stories

Just then a white-bearded gentleman arrived. He leaned on the next table looking like a whaling fisherman under his flat-rimmed cap. “I hear you want to know about the history of this place, do ya?” We all nodded quietly because our mouths were full of delicious, juicy food. “The train is on the logo because this place used to be the closest motel to the train depot one street over. Trains didn’t run at night back in the day, so they’d come to Rex’s Rendezvous. We had a hotel upstairs. 12 rooms, three bathrooms, and a shared kitchen. They could eat here and sleep there.” He pointed up.

No comment Owens hides behind his mask.

“How many hours do you work each day?” I asked, pausing from the lovely mashed potatoes and meatloaf on my plate.

“Oh, I’m down to only 12 hours a day nowadays,” he laughed. “My dad Rex owned the place. It’s always been my place since I was young. But, I’m no longer the bouncer these days. I have four heart stints now.” He paused. “But we don’t get much trouble here anyway.”

“Wasn’t The Bachelor filmed here?” Cardinal Kyrie asked, wiping her mouth with a napkin neatly.

“Five movies have been shot in here,” Robin nodded. “The Bachelor people liked to come in here after it closed and just sit around talking. I wasn’t going to throw them out now, was I?”

He got up to serve behind the bar. The crowd was getting larger as noon came and went. He paused for one more thing. He waved up at the collections of beer memorabilia above the bar. “All of them are still sealed, unopened,” he said proudly. “Not many other places around that have this kind of collection!”

We returned to the generous portions of our food. McConnell looked so sad that REMAX Jeff relented and returned his pizza. Most of his pizza. By the way, we all agreed the food was excellent. Everything I tried, from my own plate and everyone else’s, was excellent. I need to go back and try the fried Chicken gizzards with one of those 10 beers on tap next time.

Cheers to Robin and the gang at Rex’s Rendezvous!