Come and get it - your granny hug

By MANDY SPIKES | Central Texas Edition

September 11, 2003 -- When someone en-ters the Two Grannies Downhome Cookin' restaurant, located in Glen Rose, they can instantly feel as though they are entering their granny's house. Immediately, the two owners June Thomas and Gloria Whitley greet their visitors with a traditional granny hug.

Besides a hug to make the person feel welcomed, the two grannies also cook all the meals that are served at the buffet-style restaurant. From catfish to mash potatoes, the two ladies make all their food from scratch, just like their mother's and grandmother's did when they were young.

"We are both widows and we wanted to do something fun. We started the Two Grannies Downhome Cookin' because we thought we would be happier doing something that we like to do - cook," explained Thomas. "We thought the restaurant business was interesting, so we decided to start our own restaurant."

Whitley added, "When I would go out to eat, I could never find a place like this to eat. There was no place that offered people a home-cooked type of meal."

In the two years that the restaurant has been open both ladies feel that the best experience has been meeting the different people that come to eat at their establishment.

"We have had some of the nicest people come from all over the United States to eat at our restaurant," said Thomas. "Just recently, we had a couple from Honolulu who heard about our place from her father. Her father, who lives in Fort Worth, heard about us from his local paper."

The recent publicity interest, which began last month when their restaurant was shown on the Today show, has been very exciting for the ladies. "The people from the Today show who came to see our restaurant and visit with us were very nice, down-to-earth people. They spent two hours with us and we all had a very nice time," Whitley stated.

In the early days of the restaurant, most customers visited them due to high praise by previous patrons. "At first, we were known just by word-of-mouth," Thomas reported. "When we started getting more publicity by TV and different newspapers, more people started to come visit us."

Eating at the Two Grannies, to both ladies, should be fun and relaxing for their visitor. "It's serve yourself. If you want something, just get up and get it because you are at granny's house," Whitley said with a smile.

Every day has a certain menu, including fried chicken and catfish cooked in a skillet on Thursday and Friday. They have the same dessert and every night there is a sing-along.

Adding to the ambiance of 'granny's house' is the decor. Quilts are hung along the walls of the restaurant and the tables are set the same way as the ladies remember their grandmother's setting the tables.

In addition to the various visitors that come to the restaurant, the grannies own families come to enjoy the food. Whitley proudly stated that she has three sons, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Whitley added that she has one son and one daughter, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

"We want people to enjoy eating here. One man asked us if we would ever like to franchise and we told him no," Thomas said. "There is no way to duplicate granny's house."