THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 26, 1997 TAG: 9701240158
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: 80 lines
By the time you read this, Dan and Edwina Shepard should be ready to dish out the first week's worth of home-cooked food at their new Mama Jean's Cafe, on the corner of Airline Boulevard and Potomac Avenue. When I visited last week, they were working on furnishings and awaiting a final inspection to get the doors open.
A native of Tupelo, Miss., Dan Shepard told me that he learned the food business as a second job while serving as a jet mechanic in the Marine Corps. He said that after working the past 10 years as a manager with Grandy's, Hardee's and Denny's - where he still holds down a manager's spot - he sat down with his family and came up with a concept that combines fast-food speed with home cooking.
He plans to serve a choice of a meat, two vegetables, and bread from a steam table for $3.99, dished out into a three-way Styrofoam container so customers can consume the meal at a table on-premises, or take it home or back to work.
``I don't think there's a person in the world who isn't tired of a fast-food burger, fries and Coke for lunch, and fast food isn't really fast anymore,'' Shepard said. ``If you go to a country buffet you're lucky to get out for less than $6 or $7. Here we'll offer a choice every day from four meats, and five to seven vegetables, and serve it with bread.'' The $3.99 covers the basics, with beverages and desserts extra.
After the 90-seat cafe is up and running - open for lunch only at first, Monday through Friday, probably from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Shepard plans to cater church, business and civic parties and dinners, during hours when the normal operation is shut down. He said he'll make the facilities available to groups that want to do their own food as well.
Shepard named the new cafe - located in the former Cowboy's (or maybe you recall it as the original Tara Sports Lounge) - after his 74-year-old mother, a nurse he described as an ``old-time caregiver,'' who now lives in the Westhaven section of Portsmouth.
It was Shepard's sister Donna who came to Portsmouth first, some nine years ago, to do missionary work that led to the establishment of the First United Pentecostal Church on Haysom Street, where her husband, the Rev. Gary Linville, leads the flock.
``We all live in Portsmouth, now,'' Shepard said. ``And we really want to be part of the Portsmouth family. When I first told people about the restaurant, they would say, `Why Portsmouth?' I see a gold mine here, with old, established families, retired folks, and more of what we call blue-collar workers, and that's where I'll fit the niche.
``People will get their food fast, but it won't be bland, and it may not satisfy everybody's taste buds like they try to do in buffet restaurants,'' he added. ``We're going back to our roots and doing food the old-fashioned way, like when you're going to Mama's for Sunday lunch and you say, `I hope Mama does the green beans the way she always does.' ''
Mama Jean herself will be on hand periodically, Shepard says, greeting customers at tables and distributing deviled eggs, fried okra, or other treats.
``We want people to have that personal contact, to know that this is a home-touch family business,'' Shepard said.
Family is a key word when talking to Dan Shepard. At 40 years old and married for 18 years, he recounts helping to raise his wife Edwina's five children from a previous marriage, and points out that his 11th grandchild is on the way.
``Without the support of my family, I wouldn't be able to do this,'' Shepard said. ``We're out on a limb and a prayer and a hope, but the Lord will take care of us. He's the driving force to make this work.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Edwina and Dan Shepard should be opening their new restaurant, Mama
Jean's, by Monday. The food will be an alternative to burgers and
fries.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
Mama Jean's Cafe: 606 Airline Blvd., Midtown, 397-6582.
Food: Southern-style home cooking, served in a to-go container,
tables available, no alcohol, no smoking.
Price: presently lunch-only; $3.99, exclusive of beverages.
Hours: Lunch Monday through Friday.