A rather important anniversary managed to slip by me a few weeks ago, one that actually has had a fairly significant role in my life.
Ten years ago in February, the Cottage Café opened for business at 817 South Railroad Avenue.
Almost every Saturday since then, I’ve worked up at the Café, performing the same sandwich-making tasks tens of thousands of times over my tenure there.
A revolving cast of characters have always been on hand with me those days, each of them bringing different skill sets and personalities to the table with them.
The original Saturday crew consisted of Mary Louise Gore, Mallory Drake and me. At times, we bickered and squabbled, as middle schoolers tend to do, but we somehow managed to successfully run a small café ourselves (with a small amount of occasional assistance from Homer and Tim when necessary).
As the business began to grow, so did we, and my old crew moved on to other, more interesting employment.
The faces may change, owners may come and go, but the atmosphere and feel of the place has stayed roughly the same.
Much of this continuity has been the work of our well-loved manager, Pat Hamby.
She is undoubtedly the glue that holds our ragtag little group of misfits together and her workhorse spirit and energy is admirable.
I’m not entirely certain she isn’t part robot with the amount of tasks she’s able to undertake in a morning.
I’m several years her junior and she has the energy levels of three of me.
There were a few instantly forgettable seasonal employees that worked there after the departures of Gore and Drake, but none stand out until Amanda Phillips stepped on to the scene.
We’d known each other since childbirth and she automatically both understood and accepted my natural affinity for insane comments.
I tolerated her being an Alabama fan.
It was a partnership that worked exceedingly well, until Amanda decided to head to Atlanta for culinary school.
While I was sad to see her leave, I’m anxious to see her hone her culinary skills to higher levels, if only so I can say there was a time when I worked in the same kitchen as Chef Amanda.
Following Phillips’ tenure, weekday Café veterans Barbara Ann Lutrell and Nicole Baggett generally have been alternating Saturdays, providing our regular customers with a bit of intrigue and mystery as they wonder what poor girl has to work with Cliff this week.
As much as I’ve complained about being forced into “indentured servitude” over the years, I generally find myself quite lost on Saturdays when I don’t work.
I’m a horrible creature of habit, and Saturday at the Café is an ever-present part of my life.
I enjoy getting to see our regulars every week, getting to talk to Mama Campbell and Brittany, Ms. Lindsey and Becca or Ruth and Ross about how bowling went this week.
In fact, Ruth’s order is written on the side of the fridge in case I am MIA one week. She has a very specific order, and we aim to please.
Outside of Bulldog Stadium, the “prayer bench” in the Café is one of my favorite places to read, and woe be unto the person who thinks it’s a good idea to take the high chair with my book sitting on it.
For 10 years, the Cottage Café has been a monolith in my life.
Here’s to 10, folks, and hundreds more.
: )
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