His life was his grill behind the shop counter

By Stephanie Hayes, Times staff writer
In print: Saturday, April 19, 2008

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ST. PETERSBURG — When people came to Central Coffee Shop, they got a show.

There was no hidden kitchen, no slim heat lamp shelf peppered with paper tickets. John Mangels stood out in the open. Just him and the grill.

In 1988, a St. Petersburg Times writer described the scene:

I once watched him for a solid hour and 15 minutes, and not a yolk broke that wasn't intended to break. Fried eggs are best. He drops them down just like over easy, but as his right arm arcs away, he moves in with the empty shell to cut across the yolk in a swift jab. The whites and the yolks run together.

Then he peels potatoes while he's waiting.

• • •

He grew up in New York. In high school, while his friends played sports, he worked at a butcher shop and studied the restaurant business. He married Chris Mangels in 1975, and they came to Florida.

On a honeymoon whim, they decided to turn an old hot dog shop on Central Avenue into a lunch counter. They were barely 20. And in no time, they had a string of regulars and a whirring business.

"He was really dedicated to his work. That was his life," said Chris Mangels, 52. "We just expected to make a living. You don't think about it, I guess."

Mr. Mangels was a perfectionist. He'd start at 4 a.m. peeling potatoes. He'd stay until 5 p.m. scrubbing griddles. He kept track of orders and prices in his head.

His kids grew up in Central Coffee Shop. Loyals remember seeing them cozied up to the counter with coloring books. Eventually, he and Chris Mangels divorced. They remained friends, and she came into help run things when needed. She figures some people never knew they had split.

Mr. Mangels remarried and had three more children. They became fixtures at the restaurant, too.

• • •

He was born with a heart condition. When he was 20, he had an operation to replace a defective heart valve with one from a pig, said his ex-wife.

He was back at work two months later.

His condition flared up and down over the years. But three years ago, his health took a downturn. He asked his daughters if they would like to take over the business. Mr. Mangels died Tuesday. He was 52.

Now, Michelle and Cassie Mangels, 22 and 20, serve the customers. Nicole Mangels, 24, cracks the eggs and peels potatoes out in the open.

Just her and the grill.

Stephanie Hayes can be reached at shayes@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8857.