This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

Our First Year: At The Beautiful Restaurant Many Gather for Fun, Fellowship

The Beautiful, an unexpected gem in the Cascade community, is patronized by diners from all over.

Editor's Note: Cascade Patch celebrates its first anniversary this month. This piece, by Kimathi Lewis, is today's "Our First Year" feature. It first ran on Feb. 10, 2011.

The little boy beamed when he saw  the women dressed in orange and white at Greenbrier Mall.

“Look mommy, they work at The Beautiful,” he said.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Lenora Reese smiled. It felt good to be recognized, especially by a child.

But the truth is, at 2260 Cascade Rd., is well-known throughout Georgia and beyond. But how well-known, no one seems to know.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

For students, it is a momentary break from studies. For professionals, it’s a place to network. And for ambitious politicians, it’s a must-stop on the campaign trail.

Indeed, The Beautiful is a landmark.

Yet, it was never supposed to be this way.

The Beautiful was never meant for the community. It was never meant to be shared.  The members of The Perfect Church just wanted a dining place designed only for them.

“On Sundays, it was difficult when we (went) out to eat to find a place to dine on our own,” said Ken Montgomery, one of the church’s deacons.

So, on Sept. 30, 1979, the church opened The Beautiful as a place for the congregation to spend their money on themselves. The church ladies would have a place to work and the members would have a place to dine.

Within days of opening the plan flopped. “The neighborhood came in and took it, so we still didn’t have a place to go,” Montgomery said, laughing.

The church had built the 1,100 square-foot restaurant to seat 35, but as the lines got longer, they realized they had to expand. Within about two years, they doubled the restaurant’s size to seat about 100. The Beautiful now has about 50 full-time and part-time employees, and less than half are church members.

The restaurant is so popular that the church has opened three more, all named The Beautiful, over the years. They were equally successful, but two were closed in the late 1980s because of poor building conditions and lack of good workers. Fire destroyed the fourth one in the 1990s. Only the Cascade Road location still stands and continues to thrive.

It’ a late-night stop for club hoppers and an affordable choice for individuals desiring lunch or dinner on the go. It’s where families and members from different churches congregate for Sunday dinner.  It’s also where friendships have been formed.

Amidst the chorus of laughter, conversations and ice clinking against cold glass, they sit.  Through the changing faces of workers and patrons, they sit. Day after day, night after night, they sit. They are the regulars, the ones who never seem to leave because they are always there. 

Years after years of going to the restaurant, seeing each other and making chit chat, they began calling themselves The Round-Table.

They are men and women, mostly retired, many graying who come to sit, eat and spend hours talking, networking and enjoying each others’ company.

“A lot of people just pass through," said Willie Jones, 70, as he relaxed after his meal one Tuesday night. "We are here every night."

Jones has been coming to the restaurant for more than 20 years. His one complaint: the restaurant needs to provide more variety in the menu

. Across from him sits Jonny Love. He agrees with his friend.  Love, who is a vegetarian, would like to see some “softer” dishes added to the menu such as a side salad and jello.

Still, he said, “This is the place I normally come and eat because I’m a bachelor. This is my kitchen.”

Charlene Farrior, another The Round-Table member, said she gets enough variety especially on Wednesdays when the restaurant serves Vegan meals.

Farrior recently became a vegetarian. But in the past, she would take turns sampling the restaurants dishes including the barbecued beef ribs, the Cornish hens and baked chicken halves with dressing. Each served with two sides of fresh vegetables and a choice of bread.

“It’s not the same as it was in the old days," said Farrior, 53, a retired Delta Airlines employee. "The macaroni and cheese is good, but I remember it from 20 years ago when you knew someone’s mother was in the back cooking. You knew there was love in the sweet potato.”

Still, she said, The Beautiful is not about the food. “It’s about the people. It’s almost like Cheers where everybody knows your name,” Farrior said.

“Sitting here on any given day Jesse Jackson might walk in,” Farrior said. “Here he gets no special treatment. He has to stand in line like everybody else.”

And he’s not the only one.  Reese, the restaurant’s general manager, rattled off the names of the many celebrities who have dined at The Beautiful.  From actors Wesley Snipes and Boris Kodjoe to singers LL Cool J, Snoop Doggy Dog and Gladys Knight.

But there are no pictures on the walls or autographs on napkins to prove they were there.

“We don’t allow employees to bother the celebrities for autographs when they come,” said Reese, though she still remembers where Monique sat several years ago and that she ordered the catfish.

Cynthia Phillips, a church member since 1979, smiled as she recalled serving Denzel Washington. “When he held my hand and gave me that money, he said ‘here you go sweetie,’” Phillips said.

The Beautiful has sent cakes to Michael Jackson’s mother in Las Vegas and routinely caters for Turner Sports and its basketball analysts Charles Barkley. The restaurant receives orders for cakes as far away as California.

 “I was 18 when I started here,” said Phillips, now 51. “Our clientele has really grown. We are more known than we even know ourselves.” And it’s mainly through word of mouth, Montgomery said.

 The church’s former pastor named the restaurant after the Bible story in Acts 3: 2 about the beggar laid daily in front of the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful.

"The beggar came for a blessing so when people come here we hope they get a blessing," Reese said. "We hope they see a light when they get here. We hope they experience something different.”

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Cascade