131 North Court Street
Prattville, Alabama 36067

Phone: 334-365-7392
Toll-Free: 1-800-588-2796
FAX: 334-361-1314

Email: Click Here

3/24/2008 - Jim's Restaurant cooks up 5 decades of food and fellowship

By Griffin Pritchard
Progress staff writer


March 22, 2008

Customers have shuffled in and out of the doors of this Pratt­ville landmark for 50 years, each one finding a different reason to keep coming back to eatery lo­cated on South Memorial Drive.

"We serve quality food and have excellent cooks," said Phyllis Tampling, manager and co-owner of Jim's Restaurant in Prattville. "On Sundays people are lined up outside the door waiting for a table. But they don't want to sit in the coffee shop or in the small dining room -- they want to sit in the big din­ing room so they can visit and be seen. It's almost a tradition for some of the families here."

Jim's Restaurant opened on Jan. 1, 1958 by owners Jim and Janet Pierce.

"He retired from the military on Dec. 31, 1957 and opened the restaurant the next day," said Tampling. "Mom was pregnant with her fourth child and had three others in diapers. Dad had never worked in a restaurant be­fore."

From the moment the doors opened, business was growing and helping turn the eatery into a household name.

"I knew Jim when he went by Wilbur Clyde Pierce," said Hu­bert Stewart, who served as one of Prattville's first certified pub­lic accountants. "We grew up to­gether. When he was about to open the restaurant, I asked him where he came up with the name Jim. He looked at me and said, 'Have you ever tried to spell Wilbur Clyde paying $100 a letter?' He was Jim from then on out."

Along with a steady stream of customers that have aged with the business, a majority of the employees have been there from the beginning.

"We have a great relation­ship with our employees," said Tampling. "We have excellent servers and cooks that have been with us from the begin­ning, some of them. We have fun as a staff and so many of our cus­tomers have been coming here so long that there is a comfort level between the staff and the customers."

Tampling, herself, also grew up with the restaurant.

"I had just turned 2 when they opened the doors," said Tampling. "There were four of us. So a lot of times we were sit­ting in one of the corner booths playing or playing under the ta­bles. At one point, when we were little, we set up a Little Jim's Restaurant out back out of card­board boxes and acted like we worked there."

Tampling worked as a server, and after a college career that took her to The University of Alabama and later to Troy University, she returned home and became the restaurant's manager.

"I love this business and en­joy it 99 percent of the time," said Tampling. "Business is great. It slows down whenever a new restaurant moves in and opens. But it picks back up after the new wears off. Last year was our best year."

From the food aspect, Tam­pling and the servers count the chicken and dressing as the res­taurant's best dish. Tampling lists her favorite as the cheese­burger.

"People love our lemon pie, though," said Tampling.

According to the restau­rant's guestbook, found online at www.jimsrestaurant.net, there are multiple references to the lemon pie and to Jim's homemade salad dressings.

"Oh I love the food here," said Capt. Larry Hicks of the Alabama Department of Conser­vation. "My mom and dad have been coming here off and on for 50 years. I love it for the family atmosphere and for the good food."

While the restaurant's namesake is deceased, his wife Janet is still keeping a hand in the business.

"She's 80 years old and still does our accounting books in triplicate," said Tampling. "She's not going to give it up. She comes up here most days after the lunch rush and spends time. She eats lunch and visits with the customers."

At the restaurant's Web site, a simple explanation is given as to what sets them apart from their competitors: "Every as­pect of Jim's reflects the tradi­tion of the South. From our Southern Cooking to our South­ern hospitality, you will know you are in the South. Look around and you'll find friendly wait staff and friendly custom­ers eager to make your dining experience one to remember. Family-owned and family-friendly. From the start, we have tried to convey to our cus­tomers the beauty and fun of this Southern country through many of its cultural aspects and most of all through it fabulous food."

Stewart, who was dining with his wife Ophelia, wasn't surprised that the business has been serving up its specialties for half a century.

"I figured that he'd do good," said Stewart. "This place has got a great family atmosphere and it's just fun to come here."

Tampling points out that, while continuing to serve a steady flow of customers, she is also dealing with rumors about the business shutting down or being sold.

"We are not shutting down and we are not being sold," said Tampling. "I had a lady just a moment ago say, 'I hope they keep serving lemon pie when the new people come in.' On Sat­urday I had three people in 30 minutes ask me the same ques­tion.

"I'm in my early 50s. I've got another 20 good years left in me to keep this place open and keep the family tradition going."

<-- Go Back