Knight sells Chef’s Table for ‘something a little easier’
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

NORWAY – Herb Knight is saying “good night” to the restaurant business.

After owning the Chef’s Table for 14 years he sold the business to J. Michael Thompson, who has been employed there for all of Knight’s tenure.

“He’s young and full of energy,” Knight said about the 38-year-old Thompson. “I’m getting old and tired.”

Knight, who has spent 40 years in the restaurant business, said he is not retiring. He was just looking “for something a little easier.”

Knight’s brother Charles had owned the restaurant since 1970 before Herb took over in 1989.

Thompson, who started in the restaurant business 18 years ago by working with Knight at Jimmy’s, a former restaurant in Auburn.

The Chef’s Table will be renamed Michael’s Dining and Lounge starting Sept. 1.

Thompson said he plans to keep the same staff and the menus of steaks, seafood and pasta will stay as well.

Tabitha Smith, secretary of Santos Inc. and bookkeeper for the new restaurant, said there will be some changes, however.

“We’re going to repaint and change the back room to a kids’ dining area,” Smith said. “We also are going to reopen the lounge. We want to use partitions to try to make the main dining room more private.”

She said there are plans to have a television, videocassette player and DVD player in the children’s dining room. It will also be decorated to suit children.

Smith said there will be special senior citizen menus for Sundays and that on Tuesdays, seniors will get 20 percent off the price of their meals, except for specials.

She said the restaurant will not be open past 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and will close at 9 p.m. during the weekdays.

Smith said Herb and his wife, Lois, played a major role in making this restaurant happen for Thompson.

“It’s been a little stressful,” Smith said about the restaurant venture. “But we have a lot of people in our corner.”

jsmedley@sunjournal.com