The Covington Skyline Chili, and its two legendary waitresses, get a last-second reprieve
A 52-year-old Skyline Chili location that was slated to close this summer has been saved. And with it, two beloved waitresses, who have worked there a combined 95 years, will be keeping their jobs. At least for now.
Last April, I wrote about waitresses Wilma Mounce Popp ("Ms. Wilma"), who has worked at the Skyline at Third Avenue and Philadelphia Street for 50 years, and her co-worker Terry Bell, who has been here for 45 years.
Both were facing the end of their long careers when Skyline notified them it would be closing the location at the end of July. The reason, according to Mounce Popp, was that the company wanted to find a new location in Covington that would allow for a drive-thru. Public outrage soon followed.
“We will be losing two of the best waitresses in the tristate,” a reader named Matt McVay wrote to me in an email after he found out about the impending closure. McVay said that Wilma, 70, and Terry, 63, both planned on retiring once the store was gone.
But just as the doors were set to close, the location was purchased by One Holland Group and both Ms. Wilma and Terry's jobs were saved.
The announcement came the same day that Skyline held a surprise gathering at the restaurant to celebrate Ms. Wilma's 50th anniversary of working there. During the celebration it was announced that Covington Mayor Joseph U. Meyer had officially proclaimed June 29, 20203 as "Ms. Wilma Day."
While announcing the proclamation, Vicki Prichard, assistant communications manager from the city of Covington, said that Ms. Wilma has long been known for taking care of her customers and that, over the years, she had become “an integral part of the Skyline family and the fabric of Covington.”
"That was absolutely overwhelming," Ms. Wilma told me this week.
Right after the proclamation was read, Skyline officials notified employees and patrons that the Covington location would, in fact, remain open. One Holland Restaurant Group, a Skyline Chili franchise partner that now owns 14 Skyline locations, will take ownership and keep it open. But only until they find a new location with, yes, a drive-thru.
“We are thrilled that Skyline’s current location in Covington will remain open until a new location opens," Gary Holland, the CEO of One Holland Group, told the Enquirer. “I’m excited about the Covington Skyline because I’m a 7th generation Kentuckian and have lived in northern Kentucky my entire life, which makes this even more special.”
While the so-called "Third & Philly Skyline Chili" location will remain open for now, Ms. Wilma told me she and Terry are still deciding whether or not to retire. "I am 70 years old and I've been working here for 50 years," she said. But she and Terry are going to stick around, at least for a little while, to see what happens. "It depends on what they offer us," she said. "A lot of things are going to change, I'm sure. I'm going to wait and see what Terry does."
For now, you can still find both women serving up three-ways and taking care of their customers the same way they have since they were hired back in the 1970s.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Covington Skyline Chili, and its two legendary waitresses, get a last-second reprieve
