Bob Porter is on the lookout for a brand new lunch spot. Porter — typically along with his household, typically with out — has been an everyday at Barbara’s Dwelling Cookin’ in Grassland for years, ordering the poppyseed rooster casserole, cucumber and tomato salad, and on Fridays, fried catfish, a dish he calls one of the best fish he has ever eaten.
Porter, like many Williamson County residents, was unhappy to be taught that his beloved Barbara’s plans to shut on the finish of the yr. Positioned in an unassuming home on Outdated Hillsboro Highway in Franklin, Barbara’s was just a little exhausting to seek out. “I at all times mentioned, ‘If you happen to had been driving down that street, you both lived there or had been misplaced,’” Porter says. But individuals discovered it and had been loyal to it.
Barbara’s started as a catering enterprise in 1997 and continued to cater, offering meals for weddings and different events, along with its common lunch service. The house owners of Barbara’s posted the next on Fb on Dec. 10:
To our beloved prospects (our darlings, our sweethearts):
It’s with deepest affection and appreciation that we announce that after practically 30 years of serving the center Tennessee group, Barbara’s Dwelling Cookin’ will likely be completely closing as of December 31, 2025.
Whether or not serving you lunch after Church [sic] on Sunday, catering your marriage ceremony or getting ready your vacation feasts, we’re ceaselessly grateful that we had the chance to play even the tiniest function in a few of your life’s most valuable moments together with your family members.
We didn’t arrive at this resolution frivolously — the truth is, for a few of our workers, Barbara’s has been the one employment we’ve but identified on this fantastic nation. Closing one chapter and starting one other could be daunting, and so we humbly ask that if you understand of any employment alternatives to please consider us!
We hope to see your faces over the subsequent few weeks — we might like to serve you up a pleasant home-cooked meal, and have fun the vacation season with you yet another time.
Thanks once more on your continued assist over time — it has actually meant the world.
Love,
Barbara’s Dwelling Cookin’
Nobody from Barbara’s returned calls from Scene sister publication the Williamson Scene, however they might be busy attending to the various loyal prospects who’re coming to dine one final time. Porter meant to go for lunch on Sunday however discovered that the restaurant was closing early on account of demand. On-line prospects are asking for the recipe for the restaurant’s signature rolls and different dishes.
Certainly, Barbara’s giant meat-and-three-style menu was one among its attracts, highlighting the area’s power in plate-lunch eating. However as compelling, Porter says, is the workers, who helped his household pull off a shock celebration on a Saturday, the day the restaurant is often closed.
This text was first printed by our sister publication, the Williamson Scene.
