Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407020008 SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: F1 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: MELISSA CURTIS STAFF WRITER DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It does if you're one of the millions of Americans who are indulging themselves on the all-you-can-eat, home-style cooking that restaurants all over the country are dishing out.
David Preston, president of Country Cookin', a Virginia chain that opened its first restaurant in Roanoke 20 years ago, said people nowadays have less time to cook, but still want a meal like mom would make.
"Baked breads, pinto beans, cabbage - where can you go to get those things?" Preston said. "You just can't get them anywhere else."
Well, not quite. Dozens of family restaurants serving home-style country cooking speckle the area.
Old Country Buffet is one. Clark Grant, vice president of finance for Buffets Inc., owner of the Old Country Buffet restaurant chain, said most people go out to eat, and when they do, they want good, fresh food.
"We've been living on fast food for a long time," Grant said. "It's a great break to have a price you can pay and get great value for what you pay for."
E.C. Warren, owner of Roanoker Restaurant Inc. on Colonial Avenue in Roanoke, a family restaurant serving country cooking since 1941, said this type of restaurant is ideal for the family with two working parents.
"The family wants to eat together, but there are time constraints," Warren said. "Your kitchen table has moved to the family restaurant. We've become you're kitchen."
Warren calls the food he serves "comfort food", that is "basically pretty good for you."
Rosa Lanier, owner of Rosa's Family Restaurant on Washington Avenue in Vinton, opened her restaurant a little over a year ago. She said her "keeping it simple, keeping it good" motto has made her business a success.
"We're literally busting out of the seams," Lanier said.
Lanier said she serves food that "grandma used to make".
"I think it's something people long for," Lanier said. "People want back to the basics, simplicity."
Both the Roanoker and Rosa's provide table service, rather than all-you-can-eat buffets. Lanier said most of her customers are working people who want to sit down and relax for dinner.
"If I've worked all day, I don't want to stand in a line," Lanier said.
But the buffet style has certainly been successful as well.
Preston said Country Cookin' sales are up 10 percent from last year and the company just opened its 14th restaurant in Warrenton.
The secret to Country Cookin's success? Preston said he tries to make it as economical for people to eat at Country Cookin' as it is to eat at home. He said an average check is less than $5 per customer.
Country Cookin' entrees, chosen from a menu and served by a waitress, include an all-you-can-eat buffet that includes vegetables, salad fixings, desserts and breads.
Old Country Buffet charges one price for a buffet that includes the entire meal - entrees, vegetables, salads, breads, desserts and drinks. Grant said the restaurants prepare the food in small batches many times a day.
Another key to Country Cookin's success is stability. Preston, who started out washing dishes for the restaurant while he was in high school 20 years ago, said a unit manager has worked an average of seven years and an area supervisor has worked an average of 10 years.
The majority of customers craving home-style cooking are families, and the restaurants cater to them. Children's menus, soft-serve ice cream and a relaxed, comfortable decor are ways the restaurants try to attract moms and dads.
"We have eight high chairs and seven sweepers," Warren said. "We're ready for the kids."
But what if the American public suddenly has its fill of all-you-can-eat mashed potatoes and wants celery sticks again?
Preston said he thinks there will always be a demand for country cooking. And according to Preston, as long as you "listen to what the customers want and try to give it to them," you can't go wrong.
Warren agrees.
"We try to keep everybody happy - just like your mom does," he said. "It works, we're older than the stars."
by CNB