To say the restaurant business is in Greg Smeader’s blood would be an understatement. 

The Michigan native has been working in the industry since he was 10. He's done everything from washing dishes to cooking and baking in his family’s restaurant back home. 

When he was 18, he moved to California and opened a pizza company, and after settling in Florida in 1989, he went on to take a job as the food and beverage director for a Las Vegas casino that had five restaurants under its roof. His sister also owns the popular Dunedin breakfast joint Brenda’s on the Causeway.

So Smeader knows what he’s talking about when he says a 24-hour diner can succeed in Dunedin, and he hopes his recently opened Our Place Restaurant can fill a void he feels is lacking in the area. 

“I believe there is a calling for something like this here,” he says from a stool in his remodeled Main Street restaurant. “There is only one place around here doing it now, and that’s Denny’s, so I know it can work.” 

Smeader has had to put his plans of all-night dining on hold since opening in the former home of Dunedin Breakfast & Lunch Cafe in early May. Because overnight business is slow to start, he's closing at 10 p.m. every night until business picks up, he said.

“I was surprised by the lack of response, but we’re just getting going,” he said. “Right now we’re going to concentrate on breakfast, lunch and dinner, but eventually we want to go back to 24 hours, because I know what you can do with a 24-hour place.” 

Indeed the Vegas veteran is in his element when his dining room is full and sunlight is creeping up over the horizon. 

Smeader won the prestigious "Best Breakfast in Las Vegas" award in 2010, and he helped turn a 350-seat eatery from a money drain to a profit maker within a short period of time. 

“Our food quality is high, we’re not cutting costs on anything. We’re not going to use generic products just because it costs us less. ... And our pricing is very competitive. I ate at nearly every restaurant in Dunedin before I opened, so I could compare menus and prices.”

The menu features omelets, soups, prime rib and homemade desserts. 

"My goal is to have the place packed all the time." 

Want to go?

• Our Place, 1336 Main St.
• Phone: 727-239-7886
• Hours: Daily, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.