Rosenbush Cafe

Long before the interstate system or four lane highways, U.S. Highway 11 was the only method of traveling south. To that end, my great uncle, Edwin Rosenbush shaped a business to attract truck drivers with gasoline and tourists with its splendid menu of true home cooked southern food. Coffee was a nickel with free refills and you could order 6 oz. bacon wrapped filet mignon with green salad and French fries for $1.75! Locals from surrounding communities congregated there and truck drivers knew they could get a tank of Ethyl and a great meal before continuing southwards.

It was before the Great Depression that my late father, Bernard Rosenbush, Jr., spent his summers from high school working at the cafe manually pumping petroleum from an underground tank into a large glass container on top of the gas pump before it could be regurgitated into the vehicle.

In the great tradition of Rosenbush Café offers a menu of delights for everyone. There will be esoteric movie and music reviews; Alabama sports and tales from the south from bygone days; a category on Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicts my mother; and a cat lover’s advice column written by cats : )

So while we gas up your ‘41 Chevy, sit back with a cup of 5-cent coffee, fresh eggs from a lady in Emelle, Alabama - and canned rattlesnake meat - and enjoy the fare at the Rosenbush Café.
(continue reading…)