Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 23, 1993 TAG: 9310230040
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG LESMERISES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The photos of the dinner platters still hang on the wall. Menus still list the daily specials. And the egg salad sandwich still comes with a pickle wedge.
But today, the last stool will turn, the last glass will be refilled. The last banana has been split.
The Woolworth lunch counter is closing.
The restaurant at 26 Campbell Ave. S.W. in downtown Roanoke will shut down today, along with lunch counters at the 400 Woolworth stores across the country earmarked to close at the end of the year.
Store manager David Brewer said he didn't know why the lunch counters were forced to close earlier than the merchandise departments. He received word from the company on Oct. 13.
He was told not to purchase any more stock for the counter and as a result, some of the specialties already have gone by the wayside. Hamburgers, fried chicken and bananas for the banana splits ran out Friday.
Although the counter was even busier than usual Friday, the most popular item on the menu wasn't the meatloaf or the liver and onions.
It was the memories.
For many customers and employees, Woolworth's lunch counter was a major part of their lives. For some, it was their lives.
Seated in two blue and orange vinyl booths, six women with 93 years of lunch counter memories between them reunited to say goodbye and reminisce.
Their hair may be graying, but as the stories flew and laughter rose, it was easy to imagine them in their fresh, white uniforms - young women running a lunch counter that often had customers "standing four or five deep waiting for a seat" at lunchtime, according to Frances Smith, an employee for 35 years.
"We had customers that wouldn't sit in another section," said Doris Simmons, who worked at the counter from 1953-65. "They'd wait to sit in their own sections."
The customers became friends and co-workers became family, as the counter became more than a job.
"We always put our job ahead of our family," Simmons said. "We came to work sick or well."
"Working today is not like when we worked here," said Mary Weeks, who was an employee at the counter for about 15 years. "We knew we had to come in. We had respect for the other workers. We were faithful."
As the respect grew, Woolworth really became a second home. Children of the workers were watched at the store after school. Some of those kids later worked at the counter themselves.
The counter has seen birthday parties and baby showers. The workers even wear costumes every Halloween.
Just like a family.
Bobby Johnson sits in the booth by the window. He's there every day, sometimes for hours at a time.
"Bobby's a permanent fixture in these windows," said his dining partner, Chuck Mayberry, a regular for 11 years.
"I've been coming for 35 years," Johnson said.
"My aunt used to bring me when I was small. Every Saturday we came in for turkey and dressing. Tomorrow [Saturday], I'll have turkey and dressing."
Jean Trail's been eating at the counter for 40 years.
"It's a place where you can bring a family to eat and be proud to eat here," she said.
Now the question remains: Can a family remain a family if the home's no longer there?
"There are going to be an awful lot of regulars without a place to go and get coffee and see their friends," said Frances Manuel, who worked off and on at the counter for five years.
"In the back of your mind, one day you know you're not going to see these people every morning," said Brewer, the manager of 14 years. "Now this extended family is going to end. How long are you going to send each other Christmas cards?"
Knowing this family, probably for a long time. And maybe someone will stuff a pickle wedge in the envelope.
by CNB