Memories Served Fresh at Table One
I had supper at Cracker Barrel in Branson last night. I have loved Cracker Barrel in general for a long time—but this particular old store is the most special of all to me… because I worked there as a hostess when it first opened back in 1993. I’ve spent a lot of time in that building – and as I walked into the restaurant last night, I was remembering.
It was so exciting when Cracker Barrel first announced they would be opening in Branson. It was such a popular restaurant chain back then—and at the time, almost all of their restaurants were located along interstates. When the Branson store was built, we learned when training, it was the second store in the nation to be located away from interstate traffic. (It worked out pretty well—the store was always packed!).
Employee training before the store opened was actually pretty educational and fun. We learned all of the company’s customer service and guest hospitality expectations. We learned the routines and procedures to keep things moving efficiently for guests. We learned about the quality of all the food and where it came from so that we could be knowledgeable and helpful if guests had questions. I still remember them proudly emphasizing to us that the catfish was raised in Mississippi and was only top fed—never bottom fed. (Bottom fed catfish are eating in the mud—so top feeding is much cleaner and more desirable and produces tastier fish.)
The best part of training was the requirement that we sample most of the different dishes so that we could describe them to customers, if needed. That was great fun! On breaks, we played the peg game that sits on every Cracker Barrel table. I found a pattern to use when I played it and worked to memorize the steps. I can still beat it every single time. 🙂
When the store opened, it was to great excitement – and it was busy. Guests arrived from literally all over the world—and it was such fun to meet and visit with them. (Back in those days—visiting and making connections with new people you met was still valued significantly.)
The Branson boom was happening then also—and at that time, the Roy Clark Theater was one of the newest things around in Branson. Unlike the great local resident shows, it featured a rotating lineup—booking legendary, out-of-town stars to come in and headline for a week or so at a time.
One week, Mr. Buddy Ebsen was booked to play at Roy Clark. I was excited to think of Mr. Ebsen being in town. I had grown up watching him on Barnaby Jones and The Beverly Hillbillies (that show was HUGE in its day – birthing great successful spin-offs like Petticoat Junction and Green Acres). I also remembered a guest spot he did on The Andy Griffith Show – an episode where he plays a rambler that befriends Opie. I always thought he played his parts – whether a hillbilly, a detective, or a vagrant – with such dignity.
To me, he was Hollywood gold – a true legend. Did you know? Walt Disney actually hired him to dance in front of cameras so animators could study his lanky, fluid movements to create Mickey Mouse’s very first dance steps. He danced with darling little Shirley Temple in the 1936 movie Captain January. He was even cast as the original Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, though an almost-fatal allergic reaction to the aluminum dust in the silver makeup forced him to leave the role. He also served his country in World War II as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard, and later played Doc Golightly (husband to Audrey Hepburn’s character Holly Golightly) in the iconic film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Mr. Ebsen was in his mid-80’s now – but he still loved to sing and dance and tell stories….and so he was booked to play in Branson. I was excited that he and his entourage came in to eat after his first show one night. I seated them at the big round table to the right – the first one after you go in – just past the hostess stand. Even though it’s right in front – most people pass it without seeing it…so I knew he would probably be left alone.
All of us at Cracker Barrel were excited that he was there – but we knew better than to bother him so we just smiled and whispered to one another with excitement. Some of the restaurant guests talked about how much they had enjoyed Mr. Ebsen’s show that night….never knowing that he was sitting just a few feet away.
The next night, he and his group returned – and I seated them at the same table. They came back the next night, and the next, and the next. Mr. Ebsen was friendly – and we (staff) soon discovered that he enjoyed visiting us – so we got more comfortable. I told him that I had enjoyed watching him in The Beverly Hillbillies – and asked him if he knew that the old truck used in the show was now located in the Ralph Foster Museum on the campus of College of the Ozarks in Branson. He said he had often wondered what happened to that old truck through the years and thanked me for telling him.
I watched the clock each night – hoping he would again stop by – and he always did. He would walk in with a smile and bright, twinkling eyes – but an air of dignity as well. By the end of his short run in Branson, I had gotten to visit with him briefly a few different times, and I felt fortunate. When I knew it was the last night he would be there, I asked for his autograph and he kindly agreed…..so I took a menu (I miss these old Cracker Barrel menus greatly now that so much has changed – but that’s a completely different story for another day!!!) and asked him to sign it.
It’s funny – when you meet people that you have watched on television or on movie screens for years, you feel like you know them…but you don’t….you just know them by the parts they played. It’s really nice when you meet them and they turn out to be even nicer in person than they were on the screen.
Last night, I looked at that corner table while following the host into the restaurant and I remembered. I paused for just a moment to snap a picture and smile…thankful for so many wonderful memories. They are a gift.
Did you ever watch the Beverly Hillbillies – or Petticott Junction – or Green Acres – or Barnaby Jones? 🙂
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