The Whistle Stop Cafe and Juliette, Georgia

 

“All rivers carry their secrets, but not every river keeps its secret forever.”

Bernard Jan

Art displayed in the Whistle Stop Restaurant. 

Our new great adventure was going to the delightful town of Juliette, Georgia located between Macon and Atlanta, Georgia just off I-75. This charming town is so small that the main part of town only consists of one well preserved block of shops on either side of the road and has a population of just over 3,000 people. The town of Juliette was created when the towns of Brownsville and Iceburg were combined in 1882. At that time the town was called “Glover” after Dr. Glover who built the cotton mill in town. When the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia railroad came here, the town began to grow. The engineer who built the railroad had a daughter named Juliette McCrackin. The town took on her name and the “main street” in town was named after him being called McCrackin Street.

Art work displayed in the Whistle Stop Cafe. 

During the early 1900’s, with the advent of the railroad, the town did well. Many years later, when the railroad industry declined, so did the town. This sleepy town was all but forgotten until 1991 when the movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes” was filmed here and brought the town back to life. Who knew it was filmed right here in Georgia. When we found out, we had to go visit this town and cafe. After all, it is one of my favorite movies of all time. So off we headed to Juliette on a two and a half hour excursion from Augusta.

We drove through the rolling Georgia countryside driving on the less traveled back roads, (always our favorite way to travel). Many farms we passed had recently plowed up their fields and left their rolled wheat up staged and ready to be stored for the winter. The wooded areas stretched on for miles as the sun peaked through the leaves making interesting displays on the peaceful country roads. We drove into town over the lovely Ocmulgee River which divides the town of Juliette into two counties, Monroe and Jones county.

Old Juliette Grist Mill

We stopped at the quaint Juliette Park on the river to view the Old Juliette Grist Mill. This structure was built in 1926 by Joe Smith and was the worlds largest water powered gristmill. The mill went through a few owners before it was closed in 1957. For a while, it became a motorcycle museum but is not closed. I believe this mill is now for sale. This is a pretty park with great views of the river and appears to be a great place to fish as there were a number of fisher people enjoying the day with their fishing poles and picnic lunches. When we pulled into downtown Juliette, we felt we had just entered a movie set. It was just plain adorable. Many people were strolling around the street looking at the unique shops and many were waiting to get into the Cafe for lunch.

Whistle Stop Cafe - then. 

Whistle Stop Cafe -   now.

The building that the Whistle Stop Cafe is located was built in 1927 by Edward L. Williams, Sr. He ran a general store selling groceries and staples, gasoline, cattle feed, medication, clothing, and hardware. He was quoted as saying, “We sell everything from the cradle to the grave.” He was a nice man who called everyone “Cuz” and was known to throw dice to see who would pay for a Coca-cola. He and his wife raised five boys and a girl who all helped them in the store until they went to school or entered the service. This was one of the last stores that delivered food and allowed their customers to give them credit and keep a tab going. He rented the store out to a timber consultant/real estate office and antique store when he had enough. He closed the doors in 1972, after running the store for 45 years.

This unique and famous restaurant was part of the 1991 movie, “Fried Green Tomatoes” starring Kathy Bates, Jessica Tandy, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary Louise Parker, Chris O’Donnell, Cicely Tyson, and many others and was based off the book “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” by Fannie Flaggs, a Southern writer. Fannie had a great aunt who owned a restaurant in Irondale, Alabama call “The Irondale Cafe”, which was very similar to the The Whistle Stop Cafe, which she based her book after and set the movie in Alabama.

The sign is still there from the movie. 

The restaurant still has many items from the original general store such as a meat block, cash register, meat scales, safe, wood heater, and antique file cabinet. After the movie, Robert Williams inherited the building and had a partnership with Jerie Lynn Williams who worked to make this a real restaurant. It is now owned by Elizabeth Bryant who has made this restaurant into a landmark. It became well known because of the movie, but now it is also known for the fantastic home cooked southern food.

When we got the restaurant, we put our name on the list and found out there was a wait. We had a good 45 minute wait to get in, but it was well worth it. We sat outside with many people on the porch waiting for our turn to get inside which was surreal enough from scenes from the movie. Once we got inside, we knew this place was something special. We were shown where we could sit and sat down in a booth near a window. We were in awe looking at everything on the walls and seeing the bustling of the wait staff.

Our friendly waitress came over and asked what we would like to drink. Well, we are in the south so we had to have their home brewed ice tea, of course. She asked if we wanted fried green tomatoes with that, asking in a way that made it the only reasonable thing to do. Yes, we ordered that as well. When she brought our ice tea back, it was served in mason jars with a slice of lemon on top and was made perfectly. The menu had many great southern dishes to choose from making it a difficult decision. We decided and put in our order for our meal. Joe ordered the barbecue ribs and I ordered a cheese burger.

The famous Fried Green Tomatoes.  Yummy.

Our fried green tomatoes came out first and they were amazing. They were seasoned perfectly and were absolutely delicious. They sure know what they are doing here. I never cared for them before now and as I sit here now, I am craving them. Shortly after, our dinner arrived and oh my, everything was heavenly. Joe’s ribs were cooked to perfection with the meat just falling off the bone and my burger was the best I’ve ever eaten. The portions were large and the waitress kept the tea a coming. “Dessert,” our waitress asked. How I wish I had room but we were stuffed. “Next time” we said. As we were leaving, I walked around and took pictures of the place and I was thankful the staff was so patient with me. I am sure they are quite use to this.

Railroad on side of the Whistle Stop Cafe. 

Smoke house

                                                                                                    

Old barbecue pit behind the Whistle Stop Cafe. 

 

After leaving the restaurant, we walked to the side of the building where we got a good view of the railroad tracks and behind the building was the barbecue pit. This restaurant has to be put on your bucket list of places to go. It is open from 11 am to 4 pm. They go through 400 green tomatoes in a week and during the last weekend of October, the have a Fried Green Tomato Fest where they go through about 650. Juliette is only 10 miles off I-75 so if you are on that road, keep this place in mind. It is a great destination. They are located at: 443 McCrackin Street, Juliette, Georgia.

Here lies Buddy's arm - So long old pal.  1929-1936

Here lies Frank Bennet of Valdosta, "The secret was in the sauce."

Fried Green Tomatoes was not the only movie that was filmed in Juliette for at least a couple of scenes. The other movies are Cockfighter, A Killing Affair, The War, The Tuskegee Airmen, Baby Driver, and a documentary called “Fried Green Tomorrows: Juliette, Georgia lives.” This town has done it up right with having a small court house, the police department privy, and I noticed two headstones from the movie. One was for Frank Bennet, who’s car is found in the lake with no body and for Buddy’s arm that he lost in a train accident. If you haven’t seen the movie, you must. It is wonderful.

The Habersham Wine Cellar - closed hopefully just for now.   

Whistle Stop Cafe Gift Shop.

The Old Train Depot, Juliette

Monroe County Sheriff Office and Court House. 

Opry House - only open on special occasions like the Fried Green Tomato Fest. 

Anyone for Moon Pie?

Way to cute. 

This town has become a destination. Many of the stores were not opened when we were there as of COVID 19 and we were saddened the Habersham Wine Tasting Room was shut down. We didn’t see a sign saying when it will reopen but we hope they can open again soon. This scenic community is a fun place to browse the shops and finding just that perfect unique gift or collectible. The Old Liberty Bank was not there prior to the movie but during the filming, they built a fake brick facade. Later, they built on a store behind the facade which is now the Whistle Stop Cafe Gift Shop. I love the colorful Moon Pie Shop also and the train depot. The people are super friendly in this town making it a pleasure to spend time in this town. We will be back.

                                                                                 

Till next time. Bye for now.