[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1350]]
                    A TRIBUTE TO RUBY'S COFFEE SHOP

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                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 26, 2000

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, a great Knoxville institution is closing, 
and it is a real loss to our area and to this Nation. Ruby's Coffee 
Shop in Burlington, in East Knoxville, will close this Saturday after 
37 years in business.
  This fine restaurant, where I have eaten many, many times, has been a 
friendly gathering place where friendships have been made and 
strengthened and problems have been solved. Almost everyone felt better 
and happier, physically and mentally, after a meal at Ruby's.
  Owner Ruby Witt, her daughter, Mary Jo Netherton, her sister, Ann 
Henderlight, and the entire staff are wonderful, kind, big-hearted 
people. They have given great service and sympathetic ears to many 
thousands.
  Their food was always outstanding and reasonably priced. At Ruby's, 
no matter who you were or how much money you had, you got good food and 
good treatment.
  As long as I live, I will never forget Roy Berrier, one of the 
barbers at Barnes Barber Shop next door, coming in and breaking into a 
rendition of the song ``Pine Trees'' (his own song) in front of a full 
house at Ruby's
  This Nation is a better place today because of places like Ruby's and 
the people who worked there. I am sorry to see this fine restaurant 
close, but I wish the very best to Ruby, her family, and staff.
  I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues and other 
readers of the Record the following article which was published in the 
Knoxville News-Sentinel.

           [From the Knoxville News-Sentinel, July 26, 2000]

                     Ruby's To Close After 37 Years

                            (By Don Jacobs)

       No matter how savory the food at Ruby's Coffee Shop, it'll 
     never match the warmth and friendliness exuded by the 37-
     year-old business' employees.
       But that slice of Southern hospitality is about to be cut 
     from the East Knoxville landscape with the closing Saturday 
     of a business that has seated governors, senators, sports 
     legends and even a vice president.
       The small, family-operated business where customers are 
     greeted by first name, are allowed to walk behind the counter 
     to pour coffee and are invited to use the shop's phone, is 
     closing its doors. The daughters of the owner are just plumb 
     tired.
       ``It's sad but happy,'' said Mary Jo Netherton, the 64-
     year-old daughter of the owner.
       ``I'm just tired. I was telling somebody the other day that 
     they let people out of the penitentiary for murder sooner 
     than I'll be getting out of this place.''
       Netherton's 62-year-old sister, Barbara Williams, echoed 
     the feeling that 10- to 12-hour work days that begin at 5 
     a.m. won't be terribly missed.
       ``You know, when you get in your 60s, you don't need to be 
     doing waitress work,'' Williams said.
       Owner Ruby Witt hasn't been active at the business at 3920 
     Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue since she suffered a minor 
     stoke six years ago. But each day the 84-year-old Witt gets 
     an earful of current events about the lives of her customers 
     from her daughters.
       ``She's interested in the people,'' Netherton said.
       Witt's popularity among residents, public officials, police 
     officers and the University of Tennessee sports department 
     earned her an unofficial moniker as the mayor of Burlington. 
     Police officers said whatever Ruby wanted, Ruby got from the 
     city.
       Emphasizing that point, a customer noted there are no 
     parking meters outside.
       Netherton has been gingerly lifting fried eggs from the 
     grill for 37 years at the business while Williams has been a 
     fixture for 23 years. While neither of the women will miss 
     the work, they will never fill the chasm of daily chatter 
     with customers.
       ``I'm going to miss it,'' Williams said. ``We've enjoyed 
     the people. They've been like family to us.''
       Customers feel the same way. ``We're spoiled,'' said Jimmie 
     Bounds. ``We'll never get that kind of service. When we walk 
     in the door, they yell to put a pan of biscuits on.''
       Bounds and her husband, Dean Bounds, regularly trek from 
     their Holston Hills residence with their home-grown tomatoes. 
     They slice their tomatoes and pour their own molasses on what 
     they claim are the best biscuits around.
       Biscuits and cornbread are the domain of Ann Henderlight, 
     Witt's younger sister, who for 37 years has been using the 
     same metal evaporated milk can to cut her dough. ``I don't 
     measure anything,'' Henderlight said. ``I just put in a 
     little of this and a little of that. I just do it like my 
     mother did.''
       Lettie Glass of Lilac Avenue has been munching those 
     biscuits for 15 years. ``Honey, they're just so fluffy they 
     melt in your mouth. They really can cook,'' she said.
       For Glass, the food is just part of the attraction.
       ``They treat people like people,'' Glass said.
       Former Gov. Ray Blanton, U.S. Congressional members Bill 
     Frist and John J. Duncan Jr., former UT football coach Johnny 
     Majors, country music icon Archie Campbell and vice President 
     Al Gore have taken a seat at one of the dozen booths or seven 
     counter stools, Netherton said.
       Netherton recalls mixing six raw eggs in a glass of orange 
     juice and cooking 25 strips of bacon for former heavyweight 
     boxing champion John Tate while he was in training.
       But nowadays, Williams said, the business isn't as 
     profitable as it used to be. The sisters just couldn't bring 
     themselves to raise their prices as food costs climbed. The 
     menu demands a total of $3.50 for two eggs, three bacon 
     strips, a biscuit and coffee.
       ``We didn't think the everyday people coming in here could 
     afford it if we raised the prices,'' Williams said.
       Several customers noted the sisters often fed the 
     penniless. ``If somebody came in here hungry, they got fed,'' 
     Williams said.

     

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