A reliable diner open late nights, with welcoming servers and hot grilled cinnamon rolls, makes a perfect recipe for a small town experience. 

Hamburger Inn, popularly called Hambo, is synonymous to late nights in downtown Delaware. It is one of the hottest spots downtown, opening its doors daily for up to 250 people. 

Started in 1932, Hambo is the oldest business in Delaware that started and stayed in the same building.

Something else hasn't changed either, they still have the same recipes for the chili, hamburger bun and cinnamon rolls.

Ashley Bianchi, assistant general manager  said, “We only had 12 seats and it was bar seating then … there was one grill, and one set of fryers. In the early 1940s, we got the current counter tops and they are protected by the Delaware Historical Society. So even if we wanted to tear them up and renovate, we cannot, which is awesome.”

The basement of the building has three tunnels that were connected to the Underground Railroad. One of them went out to state Route 23 north and two of them went to places on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus.

Bianchi grew up in Delaware and has seen it change over the years.

“It’s changed a lot … but still has the family vibe to it,” she said. “You can feel home here … At any given time, you can look outside and see families around, which is really nice.”

There is a family oriented environment in downtown, according to Bianchi. Over time, Sandusky has changed and adopted to what the town needs, she said.

First Fridays, she said, makes everybody come together and shows how much of a community we are and how much we depend on each other.