In today's paeans to old neighborhood restaurants, the motivations for keeping those beloved establishments alive are often taken for granted. The phrase "It's been in the family for decades" is its own explanation, a beat to hit without diving further into why the family cares, or what toll those decades have taken.

The mere fact that an eatery has been around for generations creates its own myth, to which the coattails of passion, preservation, and pride are easily attached by those who are happy just to see the joint still standing.