Loriene Perera

A gravel road runs through the woods near the ancestral home of Triple Nickel Diner co-founder Kathy Strode in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The house, once owned by Strode’s grandfather, was later restored by her nephew, Dan Strode, who manages Goshen Run Farms, which supplies beef to the diner.

Stanley Strode, right, the uncle of Triple Nickel Diner co-owner Rosie Berardi, arrives with his friend Bob Stout for breakfast in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2025. Strode, a farmer who specializes in pork production, supplies the diner with pork, bacon, and sausage.

Rosie Berardi, co-owner and co-founder of the Triple Nickel Diner, chats with her aunt, Barbara Fischer, one of the elders of the village, during a meal break at the diner in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. Berardi usually eats only at the end of her shifts.

Rancher Duane King's buffalos graze on pasture on the "death row" section of his farmland in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Saturday, June 7, 2025. King, a family friend and former neighbor of Triple Nickel Diner's co-founder Kathy Strode, exclusively supplies the diner with bison meat.

Pat Strode, a farmhand and the wife of manager Dan Strode of Goshen Run Farms, opens a gate to a pasture before feeding cows on the farm between Chesterhill and Stockport, Ohio, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Strode said she previously worked at the local Dollar Family store, one of several dollar stores spreading through the region as grocery stores close.

Flies gather near the eye of a cow grazing on pasture at Goshen Run Farms between Chesterhill and Stockport, Ohio, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025.

Co-founder Kathy Strode harvests peppers from her garden behind the Triple Nickel Diner in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Strode said her harvest season was shorter this year because of unpredictable summer weather, with heavy rains preceding drought.

People react while bidding for fresh produce at the Chesterhill Produce Auction in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. Founded in 2004 by Jean and Marvin Konkle, the auction began under a tent the following year to connect local growers with buyers and strengthen the region’s food economy. The Triple Nickel Diner sources part of its produce from the auction as part of its seven-mile local food sourcing strategy.

Co-founder Kathy Strode loads fresh produce into her truck bed as her grandson, Henry Schulz, looks on at the end of a produce auction at the Chesterhill Produce Auction in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2025. Strode said she has been buying more produce from Amish farmers at the auction because heavy rains and drought during her usual summer planting season have affected the garden behind the diner.

Chef and new co-owner Taro Tamaki brings a dish of fries to the pass in the kitchen of the Triple Nickel Diner in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Co-founder Kathy Strode said she told her daughter, Rosie Berardi, to make a role for the Dayton transplant years ago, even though the diner did not need more staff, saying she felt an immediate affinity for him. Tamaki became a co-owner after Strode retired in January 2025.

An aerial view shows the village of Chesterhill, Ohio, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2025. The Triple Nickel Diner (bottom right) sits at the end of High Street, intersecting the village’s Main Street, and is easy to miss from State Route 555 except for its sign along Main Street.

Light shines through the stained glass windows of Chesterhill Christian Church as people react during a Lenten service held in the Chesterhill Christian Church in Chesterhill, Ohio, Sunday, March 17, 2024. According to Jeanie Voland, an active member of the church, some of the stained glass windows were contributed by notable families that lived in Chesterhill.

Vickie Ball-Seiter, who runs equine-assisted coaching studio Journey With Horses, scratches gelding Teddy at her farm in Chesterhill, Ohio, February 12, 2024. Ball-Seiter shared that she adopted Teddy from Bella Run Equine, after the non-profit rescued it from slaughter in 2016. (Photo by Loriene Perera)

A tractor, car and Amish buggy travel down Marion Street, the main street of the village, in Chesterhill, Ohio, on Saturday, March 23, 2024. The village boasts a small but diverse population, encompassing a spectrum from Old Order Amish to Melungeons (descendants of mixed Black, white, and Native American ancestry).

Chesterhill, Ohio, stands as a testament to the rich and diverse roots of Appalachia, challenging the often oversimplified narratives of the region's history. Founded in 1834 by Quaker pioneers as Chesterfield, the village quickly became a haven for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, embodying a legacy of courage and inclusivity that resonates today.

Seed farmer Lindsay A. Klaunig, 39, of Toledo, Ohio, arranges Black Futsu squash before passing them to non-profit organization Rural Action for sale at the Chesterhill Produce Auction, in Trouvaille Farm in the unincorporated community of Shade, Ohio, on Monday, October 16, 2023. Halfway through the growing season, Klaunig noticed half-types among the heirloom Japanese pumpkins, and Hudson Valley Seed Company ultimately decided to cancel the contract with her farm. "So we were left with at least 1500 pumpkins that I had intended to process as seeds and now have to sell to local markets. I was selling them less than what they cost me. The problem of the off-type thing was out of my control, their fault, but I still had to deal with the consequence", Klaunig lamented. (Photo by Loriene Perera)