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Each week on the Junior Curators blog, we travel back in time to a different place in Tennessee history. Stories may be about a famous person, place or event from Tennessee’s past. They will include things like priceless artifacts, pictures, videos, and even some games. Be sure to better understand the story by answering the questions at the end of each post.

After learning the story, be sure to share what you've learned with your parents, family, or friends. Try making your own exhibit about it, shooting a movie, or writing a story about it. Let your creativity run wild!

 

9-29-22

Five Restaurants You Didn't Know Started in Tennessee

By Christopher Grisham

There are a lot of great places in Tennessee to get something to eat if you don’t feel like cooking! Tennesseans have a long and diverse history with food. Each culture and group across the state’s history has added their own flavor (pun intended) to the Tennessee menu. The Tennessee State Museum even made an exhibit on food one time called Let’s Eat! As much as Tennesseans love food, it will probably not surprise you to learn that several restaurants you may know of started in our state. Let’s take a look at five places with Tennessee origins!

Let's Eat! Restaurant map, Let's Eat! Exhibition,Tennessee State Museum

Captain D’s

This one may sound a little strange. Tennessee isn’t usually where people think of when they think seafood. We are a landlocked state. However, the first Captain D’s restaurant was opened in Donelson, Tennessee on August 15, 1969. Unlike today, the Captain D’s, or Mr. D’s as it was called then, served hamburgers along with fish and shrimp. It was started by Raymond L. Danner as a place for people to get high quality seafood at reasonable prices. Today, more than 50 years after that first location opened, there are over 500 restaurants across the country.

Krystal Mug , Tenessee State Museum Collection, 2008.111.3.1

Krystal

If you are a fan of small burgers, sometimes known as sliders, then you have probably eaten at a Krystal. On October 24, 1932, the very first Krystal restaurant opened in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This was in the early days of the Great Depression. Original owners, Rody Davenport Jr and J. Glenn Sherrill, wanted to give people with very little money a way to buy quality food. According to the Krystal website, the very first Krystal order was six hamburgers and a cup of coffee for a total cost of $0.35. That would be about $7.50 today. That’s still a good deal.

O’Charley’s

The first O‘Charley’s restaurant opened near Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1971. It was started by Charles Watkins, and that was the only O‘Charley’s for over 10 years. He never seemed to run out of customers with so many college students nearby. Eventually, Charles decided to sell his restaurant. The new owners are the ones that wanted to expand. Now there are 149 O‘Charley’s in 16 states. Charles Watkins didn’t get out of the food business though. He later went on to open Cheeseburger Charlies in Nashville.

Ruby Tuesday

There is a Ruby Tuesday in almost every state today. But that wasn’t always the case. It started over 50 years ago in 1972 with just one location in Knoxville, Tennessee near the University of Tennessee. The first Ruby Tuesday was started by a student at the University, Sandy Beall. He convinced other students and friends to invest in his plan. Beall raised over $20,000 to open his restaurant. According to legend, the restaurant was named after the famous song by the Rolling Stones.

Cracker Barrel Menu, Tennessee State Museum Collection, 2015.129.11

Cracker Barrel

Probably one of the most famous Tennessee restaurants in the country is Cracker Barrel. It seems like you pass one at almost every interstate exit these days. The very first one was opened on September 19, 1969, by Dan Evins. It opened on Highway 109 in Lebanon, Tennessee. The idea was to provide people good homestyle cooking and a place they would like to hang out. If you are driving through Lebanon today, you can still stop by and get some meatloaf and mashed potatoes with the family (even if it isn’t in the original building).

These restaurants just show a small way that Tennesseans have left their mark on how people eat all across the country. How many of these places have you eaten at? Do you have a favorite thing you like to order when you visit? Did you already know that they all started here in Tennessee?

 

Pun – a joke with different possible meanings of a word.

Landlocked – completely surrounded by land with no nearby waterways.

Invest – to provide support with money.

What was Captain D’s called before its name was changed?

How much was the first Krystal order? Do you think it’s a good deal today?

How did Sandy Beall get the money to open the first Ruby Tuesday?

Describe the type of restaurant you would open.

To learn more about foods invented in Tennessee you can read blogs about Goo Goo Clusters and Moon Pies or Cotton Candy on our website.

Christopher Grisham is the K-12 Education Manager at the Tennessee State Museum.

Sources:

Boyington, Amy. n.d. Mashed. Accessed August 2022. https://www.mashed.com/264208/the-untold-truth-of-ruby-tuesday/.

n.d. Captain D's. Accessed August 2022. https://www.captainds.com/our-story/.

n.d. Cracker Barrel. Accessed August 2022. https://www.crackerbarrel.com/about/Historical-Timeline.

Hines, Nickolaus. 2021. Mashed. January 12. Accessed August 2022. https://www.mashed.com/277736/the-untold-truth-of-ocharleys/.

n.d. Krystal. Accessed August 2022. https://www.krystal.com/about-us/krystal-history/.

West, Kay. n.d. Nashville Scene. Accessed August 2022. https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/fast-not-furious/article_28247083-6489-5e76-8bc7-cd75794813e7.html.

Posted by Stephanie Davis at 14:27
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