THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 7, 1995 TAG: 9508070043
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Profile
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FRANKLIN LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
Fred Rabil knows his place, and no one could budge him from it Sunday.
For hours, Rabil, 77, stood by the cash register at his restaurant - Fred's - greeting a steady stream of well-wishers celebrating his 50 years as a Main Street businessman.
As people walked through the glass doors that normally are closed Sundays, he called out their names and thanked them for coming.
His wife, Joyce - who is also his ``best waitress'' - stood by his side, occasionally trying to persuade him to sit and rest a minute. But Rabil, well-known for his hospitality, would have none of that.
He didn't want to miss a single friend.
``I love them all,'' said Rabil, the second oldest of nine children - all still living - born of Lebanese immigrants in Weldon, N.C.
``Everyone loves Fred,'' said his brother, Ernie, who came from Winston-Salem for the party.
Only one brother, who had made vacation commitments long before the festivities were planned, missed Sunday's open house and the accompanying family reunion.
``He's a great brother,'' Ernie Rabil said of Fred. ``He's so kind and understanding. And he talks to you, just like he does with everyone.''
The down-home restaurant offers something for all tastes. Downstairs, a bar and booths line one side of the memorabilia-covered walls; on the other side of the room is a dining area where a lunch buffet is served every weekday. In the back is a pool table; upstairs is a banquet room and dance floor.
T-shirts emblazoned with Fred's caricature encircled by ``WHEREINTHEHELLIS FRANKLINVA'' have been spotted on travelers around the world.
Meanwhile, Rabil is at the cash register until midafternoon.
``Fred can remember everybody's name,'' said Patsy Gray, who has worked at the restaurant 12 years. ``He can name you every waitress who's ever worked here, and the date she started,'' she said.
Her co-worker, Cecelia Darden, recalled how Rabil would sit at the bar after cleaning up some nights and talk about his early life.
``I could listen to every word he said, particularly about being a hobo on the railroad,'' she said.
Rabil was a teenager during the Depression and his father's business, Rabil's Department Store, was struggling. One day, he and a couple of friends hopped on a freight train and rode across country, stopping along the way to look for work.
Sometimes Rabil - his belongings packed in a Boy Scout knapsack - would rake a yard for a place to sleep or clean a bakery for stale pastries.
After he returned home, he finished high school, then ran a Texaco service station for several years before going to Cleveland to study welding. He worked as a welder in York, Pa., for four years, until an uncle urged him to come to Franklin and take over his bakery.
He agreed but didn't expect to stay long. Soon, however, he fell in love with the town.
For years, Rabil and his first wife, Polly, who died of cancer, and their three sons - Frank, John and David - lived upstairs over the business, which he eventually turned into a restaurant.
On Sunday, more than 200 people filled the Franklin landmark. Some, like James H. Turner Jr., came to pay their respects to their longtime friend. Turner, who is retired, eats lunch there every day and considers Fred's his second home.
Rabil's youngest son, David, works with his father.
``We both do our own thing,'' said David Rabil, who's usually in the kitchen. ``He's right here by the cash register, where he likes to be. He sees people come in the door and greets them. That's why he comes down here. I try to make sure everything else gets done.''
They work well together, the younger Rabil said, adding that his father still buses tables or helps out in the kitchen when needed.
``He's the boss,'' David Rabil said. ``We have a corporation, and I'm the president. But I guess he's the CEO.
``He's Fred. And I'm proud of it. He's an incredible guy.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
BETH BERGMAN
Staff
``I love them all,'' says Fred Rabil of his legions of customers and
employees, such as former waitress Jo Ann Blair.
by CNB