Eveleth Lohmann says, "l remember when John Schiltz was a kid and was the dishwasher at the Elmo Inn. He used to come over to Hagberg's store to get meat and things. I remember him saying, "Someday I'm going to own that place."

John Schiltz himself agrees that when he was a dishwasher at age 16, he dreamed that one he would own the Inn and provide world-class dining experiences to the community he loved. He honed his skills at some of the finest restaurants in the country, including the Hyatts in Kansas City, Minneapolis, and Fort Worth. He also worked at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and ended up in San Francisco. In 1983, he heard that his former boss had put the restaurant up sale.  When he came home for a wedding later that year, his Aunt, Dolly Andriotti, who worked at the Inn, confirmed that it was for sale.

After the wedding, he talked with Ben Gorka, telling him how much he wanted to buy the restaurant. But, no matter how much experience Schiltz had at that point, he couldn't convince Gorka that he could handle it. Gorka's wife Dorrie then stepped in to tell Gorka to "give him a chance." He finally did.