MANCHESTER, Tenn. (WTVF) — We've said before it's been a tough week for everyone but especially small businesses across Middle Tennessee. The question for many has been whether or not to be open in this mess. One decision by a business was something of a history-maker.
"Cheeseburger onion ring and a number one with an onion ring," shouted a voice coming from the kitchen.
Yes, it is tight quarters in the kitchen, but Manchester staple Jiffy Burger is a highly efficient burger makin' machine.
"We might be a little place, but we sure crank out some food," smiled owner David Pennington between placing cheese on burgers.
David said a key to the success of the place over his family's 58 years here is reliability. That's in the food, it's the people, it's in when you can find the place open.
"We're always like this once we open the doors," David said, gesturing around a crowded room.
On Tuesday came the historic moment. David closed Jiffy Burger for snow for the very first time in 58 years.
"I didn't believe it at first," said one employee.
"I thought they had a fever or something," added another.
But what about that ice storm in 1994? Did Jiffy Burger close then?
"Didn't bother us. We kept workin!" David answered.
What about all that icy mess in 2003?
"Didn't bother us. We kept workin!" David smiled again.
This time, David faced the same kind of decision many small business owners did.
"The small business person, they've got so many dollars a week that they've got to do to break even," he explained. "Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. This is the only time we've had to bite the bullet. It's all about the employees. The customers know them. They're their friends. We have 26 employees and a lot of them live out in the country. You get out in a rural area, those narrow roads. We care about our employees. We'd rather miss a day of work than see one of them hurt."
Of course, now Jiffy Burger's back up and going again with the regulars heading in.
"We put our people over the money we could make," an employee chimed in.
While many of us wait for all the snow and ice to just melt already, the crew at Jiffy Burger is happy to be back in these tight kitchen spaces.
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
