Mary Macs Tea Room - Mary Macs Tea Room: 65 years of recipes from Atlantas favorite dining room

J OHN F ERRELL

In the 1940s, there were sixteen tea rooms in Atlanta. They were opened by ladies as a way to make extra money, but the name was a misnomer; a tea room wasnt a place to have tea, but a nicer version of a meat and three. These meals appealed to folks who had moved to Atlanta from small towns in Georgia because they reminded them of their moms cooking. Today, Mary Macs Tea Room is the only one of these original tea room-style restaurants that still exists. The food is undeniably comforting, the atmosphere feels as familiar as your grandmothers kitchen, and the waitstaff treats every customer as if they were serving their long-lost cousin a holiday meal.

Mary Macs Tea Room is not only the story of a restaurant that has served diners for over 65 years, it is also a story that plays out over decades and includes founders, family, friends, employees, and, most of all, loyal customers. On average, Mary Macs serves more than 1,000 meals a day. Included here are 125 favorite recipes from the restaurant, from Fried Okra and Country Ham with Redeye Gravy, to Peach Buttermilk Pancakes and Sweet Potato Biscuits, to Fried Green Tomatoes and Caramel Cream Cake. Among the delicious recipes youll also find interesting sidebars, photographs of famous diners and the marvelous waitstaff, and restaurant trivia.

Mary Macs Tea Room text copyright 2010 John Ferrell. All rights reserved. Printed in Singapore. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews. For information, write Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, an Andrews McMeel Universal company, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

ISBN: 978-1-4494-0048-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009943092

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Design: Pinafore Press / Janice Shay
Photography: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn
Additional photography: Brad Newton, pages ii, v, 19, 128, 169

www.marymacs.com

Cover design by Pinafore Press
Jacket photography Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn

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T HIS BOOK IS DEDICATED to my loving parents John and Mary Ferrell who found and adopted me at birth. Without their unconditional love, encouragement, and support, I would not be where I am today. John and Mary are now gone, but they are in my thoughts daily and greatly missed. Their unique parenting taught me many things about love, learning, and life. I was raised to respect all people, especially my elders. I learned at a very early age to say thank you and mean it. I was taught not to be heard but to listenand to always tell the truth. I can honestly say that my parents would be grateful for this virtue and the fact that I try to live by the golden rule. When I turned fifty a few years ago, I realized that I had somehow managed to inherit the same trait my father complained of having: never knowing what or when something is going to come out of my mouth! My good friends Ruth and Ruby Crawford gave me a solution for my problem with their mothers wise advice to themAlways tell the truth but dont always be telling it.

Thanks also to my partner, Hank Thompson, who came into my life just before my fiftieth birthday. Hank is one of the happiest people I have ever met and a perfect complement to my life and to Mary Macs. We often feel that our motherswho knew their boys wellmust have met in heaven and had a wonderful time planning our life together as the perfect match! We have many things in common, including being adopted and growing up as the only child in a very loving home. We both grew up in small communities in the South, and were raised with the same values instilled in us by our parents. Of course, we both love Southern food, and while some people may eat to live, we live to eat!

Hanks love for Mary Macs Tea Room, his keen business sense, and his unique ability to listen and solve problems, as well as being able to motivate me and the staff, are a constant blessing. I have the best business partner a man could have all thanks to our sweet mamas, Mary and Alice!

My secret hope is that one or both of Hanks children, Matthew and Shannon, will share our love of Mary Macs and its legacy and will continue its storied history long after we are gone.

J OHN F ERRELL

C ONTENTS

F OREWORD

My mother, Margaret Lupo, began her story with Mary Macs in the early 1960s, just after her own tea room, Margarets Tray Shop, in the heart of downtown, closed. A week after Mother started working at Mary Macs, the owner, Mary MacKenzie, announced she was getting married and moving to Florida, and asked Mother to buy the business. Mother agreed to the offer, and was again in the tea room business.

At that time, there were several tea rooms in Atlanta. They had been opened by ladies as a way to make extra money, and the name was a misnomer, as it wasnt a place to have tea, but a nicer version of a meat and three. It appealed to people who had moved to Atlanta from small towns in Georgia because it reminded them of their moms cooking.

One of the beauties of Mary Macs was that everyone was welcome; it wasnt an exclusive dining room like so many in Atlanta were at that time. At one table, you would see the mayor or the governor. At the next table, there might be a group of Atlanta workers. Mother welcomed everyone, regardless of race. Segregation was at the forefront in Atlanta in the early 60s, but Mother made it clear from the start that everyones money is the same color, and if you dont understand that, then you dont need to work in my restaurant. She never tolerated disrespect, and was affectionately known as Mama to her staff and guests. She treated that dining room as if it were her own personal dining room.