Food - A Family Legacy: The Coffee Pot

The Coffee Pot

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with my love of cooking and eating, but my dad's family owned and operated a diner in downtown Ponchatoula for about 40 years.  It opened in the early 30's and closed in the early 70's.  Below is an article in the paper that gives an early history of the restaurant and my grandfather, Paul Williams.  A special thanks to local historian, Jim Perrin, for finding this article and some of the pictures. 

It was a place that was open 24 hours a day.  For most of its history, it did not even have locks on the doors.  Later they began closing for Christmas, but my grandfather felt this was a service to those that needed a place to eat.  I remember hearing that the first time they closed the restaurant was when FDR died.  My grandmother, Mabel Varnado Williams, was a huge fan of the president and was too distraught to work. 

I have some memories of visiting the restaurant.  I would stop by on my way to swimming lessons at the town pool in Kiwanis Park.  At that time we lived on West Willow - just a few blocks from the restaurant.  I was especially fascinated with the milk dispensers and would enjoy chocolate milk as often as I could.  I remember a long curved counter and booths along the wall.  There was also a candy counter and maybe ice cream near the front.  I also remember my dad bringing home supper in large plastic jars.  My mom was the baker in her home growing up, but did not learn to cook.  We would joke that she didn't need to learn since dad could bring home leftovers from the restaurant each day.  I don't remember eating very much at the restaurant - just stopping by every now and then. It closed when I was around 11 years old - soon after my grandfather died.  By that time the downtown area of Ponchatoula was struggling, with the addition of the interstate, and my father had 5 children to support.  

Unfortunately, when it was time to close the restaurant, my dad was so ready to leave this all-consuming business that he did not keep very many items from the restaurant.  Also, unfortunately, he is no longer here to ask questions about the restaurant.  I will share some of the stories that he did share over the years in upcoming posts.   If you or someone you know has a memory or artifact from the restaurant, I would love to hear about it or see it. 

Here are a couple of other pictures of the restaurant:

This picture was taken when the Ideal Theatre was caught fire in downtown Ponchatoula.   His future wife (my mom) worked at the Ideal - he did not know it at the time. 

Here is picture from the 1955 PHS Greenback.  These were two class favorites that some may recognize as members of their family.