The Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, Georgia, serves fried green tomatoes and more.
For a long time, I’ve wanted to eat at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Juliette, Georgia, made famous by the 1990s movie filmed there - “Fried Green Tomatoes.” The movie, starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy, was based loosely on Fannie Flagg’s Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, set in Alabama. On a recent trip, we were close enough to this central Georgia tourist attraction, off the beaten path from Macon, to eat lunch. From the minute we drove into the tiny town until we left, I truly felt as if I were within a movie, not watching one.
When we walked into the cafe around 11:45, we were seated at the last vacant table. Afterwards, people waited on the porch for seating. Playing up the movie image of “Southern,” drinks were served in Mason jars and we chose from a menu featuring “home cooking.” Bob and I both chose fried catfish and two veggies listed on the chalk board. We both chose rutabagas. Of course, the printed menu also included sandwiches, salads, chips and fries. Unfortunately for me, they only serve “fried green tomatoes” as an appetizer, a sandwich or a topping for a chef salad. I couldn’t order a few slices as one of my vegetable selections.
We truly enjoyed the food served in this old building filled with tourists who moved constantly to check out pictures on the walls and other memorabilia. And it was in the people watching that I felt transported into a movie set.
Seated at a long table next to us were eight ladies. Bob surmised they were sisters. I don’t know, but I know they constantly ate from each other’s plates. There was none of the usual offering, “Would you like to taste?” Or “May I taste that…?” Each just reached over the table and took what she wanted. When one stood up to walk over to read a newspaper clipping, another reached over and took a bite from her sandwich. I’ve done a lot of people watching in my life, but I have never witnessed such before. A screenwriter couldn’t have scripted a more bizarre scene.
In 1927, Edward L. Williams Sr. built this building as a general merchandize store which was in operation for 45 years. After that, it served as a timber consultant/real estate office, then an antique shop. After the film company made the site famous as a cafe, Robert Williams, with friend Jerie Lynn Williams, decided to turn the facility into a real cafe, open from 11a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. If the day we visited is any indication, it’s a true success story.
In addition to the Whistle Stop Cafe, other buildings along the main street called McCracken, have been converted to antique shops and souvenir stores. According to the cafe’s webpage, the town of Juliette was first called Glover after Dr. Glover who built a cotton mill near the Ocmulgee River. An engineer who was helping to build the railroad through the area called the spot Juliette, after his daughter. The town kept her first name and dubbed the main street her last name, McCracken.
IMDb (Internet Movie Database) reports a follow-up story. “In 1991, Juliette, GA was a lone street with buildings covered with Kudzu. An antique store was open on the weekends and a tiny restaurant was opened for breakfast and lunch. After a Hollywood movie came through and added $250,000 construction to the ailing structures, turning the antique store into a fictional restaurant, the town's owner turned that restaurant into non fiction. Fifteen years later, although the owner was told he would go out of business, the Whistle Stop Cafe and other shops thrive, and the town brings in 25,000 visitors a year.”
2018
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