Alex and Cecil ‘Singer’ Cox at the Cox Cafe in 1932

By John ‘Butch’ Dale
Guest Columnist

John ‘Butch’ Dale

It seems that in today’s world the vast majority of dining establishments are large corporate franchises, none of which are located in small towns. But in the good old days, just about every little town had at least one family owned restaurant.

My hometown of Darlington had a restaurant on Main street from the 1920s up until the early 1990s, and the most popular one was the Cox Cafe, which was started up by Cecil “Singer” Cox and his brother Kenneth Cox in 1930. It was certainly one of the busiest and most interesting business establishments in town. Four people who kept this cafe even more exciting were the four daughters of Cecil and Mabel Cox — Marta Cox Jeffries, Judy Cox Marquez, Jane Cox Stewart, and Margaret Cox Wray. As teenagers these girls could always find a way to liven things up!

The Cox Cafe was located in the Chambers Hotel building in the center of town. To attract visitors during the Great Depression years, prices were kept low. Hot dog and hamburger sandwiches were 5 cents, while ham, pork, and tenderloin sandwiches were 10 cents, as were french fries. A dinner meal, with meat, potatoes, a vegetable, side dish, and drink was 35 cents … or you could order a T-bone steak with french fries, salad, and a drink for the same price. A piece of homemade pie and fountain drinks were also 5 cents each.

The largest crowds were usually on Saturday nights when there were band concerts on Main street and the Sunshine theater had a feature movie playing. The downtown was packed with townspeople and country folks. The Cox Cafe was so busy serving their regular Saturday night customers that they had a hard time keeping up.

The restaurant was also busy on holidays, especially Decoration (Memorial) Day when many people who had moved away came back to visit with their friends and pay respect to those who had passed. Another busy time was during the summer when a carnival set up on Main street for three days of entertainment. During mornings and afternoons, many people would also stop in for a fountain drink or cup of coffee … or purchase candy or tobacco products … and catch up on the latest happenings, and yes … gossip, around town. And the Cox girls just might play a trick or some shenanigan on an unsuspecting customer!

When Kenneth took the job of postmaster, Keith “Skeeter” Cox became a partner and helped out until World War II  started. Another brother, Alex Cox, who was a teacher and coach, also helped out. According to Marta, after basketball games, the Darlington coach brought his team to the cafe, and the ball players were allotted a certain amount of money to spend. It seemed they all wanted a milkshake with their sandwich … and that ONE milkshake machine was going nonstop! When Alex coached at Linden, he would also bring his team in for an after game treat. It was so crowded that you could barely walk through the cafe … hectic … but fun! Marta also mentioned that there was a jukebox playing, and a large table in the rear was often converted to a ping pong table!

Well, the Cox family finally gave up the business in 1951, and Clarence and Bertha Greatbach bought the cafe. Their daughter Josephine also ran it for a few years, until it was purchased by Raymon Brown, the Darlington sixth grade teacher, and his wife Grace. There were others who owned the restaurant through the years, such as Kate Newby, Billie Hall, and even two of my aunts, Dora Cohee and Ruth Wells

The work hours were long, and the profits were few, especially as fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger Chef, Satellite, and Just-Rite appeared on the scene.

When Darlington High School closed in 1971, no more ball teams showed up after the games. And when Darlington grade and middle School closed for good in 1988, that not only doomed the restaurant business, it also doomed almost every other business in town. The cafe, the drug store, the barber shop, the furniture store, the dry goods store, the pool room, the beauty shop, the grocery, and many others … all gone now.

My wife and I eat out just about every weekend in Crawfordsville or Lafayette. The food is always good, and the waitresses are friendly, but I always think about those days when I was a youngster … the people, the comaraderie, the fun times … I had when I visited the restaurant in Darlington. The Cox Cafe and those who came after them … will always be a special memory for me and other Darlington folks. I’ll bet many of you also miss your hometown cafe!