By Carl Helton, LC staff
I have many fond memories of eating with my family at the Café down the street. For this week’s History Rewind, we go back to October 2015 and an article written by Alexa Tutor, “The Lakeland Café.” Mrs. Tutor, her husband and two young children still live in Lakeland.
Note:
This year, Lakeland is celebrating its 40th anniversary and commemorated that event at the fourth concert of the LAMP outdoor series Aug. 26. The next concert is from 7 to 10 p.m. Sept. 23. Seeing Red will be the live band for the City’s homecoming. Lakeland football teams and cheerleaders will be presented. Entertainment for the family includes inflatables, face painting and Mr. Mike the Balloon Man. Food trucks will be on site as well at City staff selling soft drinks and water for $1. Bring a blanket or chairs, food and coolers if you like.
Located on Huff N Puff Road, Cafe Lakeland (or Lakeland Cafe, depending on who you ask), was THE place to get your grub in Lakeland. Louis Garner opened the restaurant in the 1970s, and it quickly became a favorite for truckers and travelers passing through due to its proximity to I-40. It was also the City of Lakeland’s polling place during elections.
I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Willow Clausel, who managed the restaurant for over 20 years, and she enlightened me to what life was like inside the walls of Cafe Lakeland. The restaurant boasted both a buffet and a full-menu, where you would find southern food staples such as: fried chicken, baked ham, catfish, seafood, cornbread dressing and even fried frog legs.
Ms. Clausel – who started as a cashier and worked her way up to manager – made homemade yeast rolls in muffin tins, and she recalled how she never could keep enough peach cobbler (with homemade crust, of course) in the tins on the buffet line! Mr. Garner took pride in the fact that his restaurant used fresh produce and meat in their recipes, so, as manager, Ms. Clausel would go buy produce on Scott Street or off of Summer Avenue almost daily.
Jan, Louis’s wife, was also instrumental in the life of the Cafe Lakeland. She had a banquet hall added onto the space, converted one area of the dining room into a large party room, and had a bar top put in the restaurant, where regulars like Ms. Shirley Henley would sit and eat daily. The last party Ms. Clausel recalls having in the restaurant was a Christmas party for Old Time Pottery, then located in the Belz Factory Outlet Mall, for 92 people!
Ms. Clausel warmly remembered the generosity Mr. Garner possessed for his employees and patrons alike. He even bought her a house in Arlington after a scary incident at her previous home in Whitehaven. Life at Cafe Lakeland became a family affair when Ms. Clausel’s granddaughter, Stephanie, began waiting tables there as a teenager. She recalled the nice, friendly patrons, and the many celebrities that frequented the restaurant, such as Ricky Van Shelton and Jimmy Dean. The restaurant unfortunately closed in the mid-90s, and the building now houses The Refuge Church.
Fun fact! Does the lion in the photo look familiar? He’s been all around our great city for decades! He was once located in the amusement park, moved to the front of Cafe Lakeland (as pictured), and then was placed in storage at the IH Clubhouse after the restaurant closed. Shortly before its opening in 2001, he was graciously donated to Lakeland Elementary School, where he still greets our Lakeland Lions daily!
