Wolf River Cafe, It’s Worth The Wait

Small town grit is a real thing. No matter who says it can’t be done, if the task is given to someone from a small town you can bet your bottom dollar, it’s going to get done. That’s just the attitude that catapulted Betty Knox Morrison Salmon’s restaurant to the infamous status it has today.

In 1989 Betty was looking to make a career change. She had spent 13 years working for Rossville Academy, and though she loved it there, she needed to make a change. She looked around the community, listened to her neighbors and realized the one thing her community needed was a café. She put pen to paper and opened Wolf River Café. She had never dreamed of owning a restaurant, but she loved Home Ec in school and with the excellent help she hired, the café took off. Carl has been her right-hand man from the beginning. He would prove to be integral to the success of the café.

A few years into owning Wolf River Café, Betty was called to care for family in another state. She put the restaurant up for sale and assumed she was closing a well-loved chapter of her life.  Fast forward a couple of years to when Carl called her. “Betty, when are you coming back?” he asked. It didn’t take long to realize the café was back in her hands or Rossville would lose its beloved lunch and dinner spot. Betty got the call on Monday. On Friday the doors were reopened with a big banner out front that read, “BETTY’S BACK!” The locals were all too happy to support Betty in her renewed venture.

Betty says the restaurant’s success boils down to good food and good employees. When she first opened in 1989, she bought 1 box of catfish totaling 40 pounds. She told me, “I thought, ‘We’ll never eat all of this!’”. Now Wolf River Café easily sails through 40-45 boxes, over 1600 pounds, every weekend. If you think that’s crazy, you should know Vickie is pumping out 400-500 hushpuppies to accompany that fish. Detra is responsible for the sauce and Carl is crafting BBQ. These three might be keystones to the kitchen, but without the rest of Betty’s outstanding staff, so many that have been so loyal over the years; that mouth-watering food wouldn’t make it out of the kitchen. They keep the Mason jar cups filled with iced tea and deliver the food piping hot to your table.

If you’re hankering for the best fried catfish in the county, you need to get to the Wolf River Café on Friday or Saturday nights and get there early. You’re going to wait, but it’ll be worth it. For every meal that’s being served inside, the staff is working just as hard to fill the orders going out the door. While you wait feel free to take a stroll over to the park across the street or sit awhile on the bench out front. The cedars that make up Wolf River Café come from Betty’s childhood farm.

The café is open Wednesday & Thursday from 7 am to 7:30 pm and Friday & Saturday from 7 am to 8:30 pm. You can get your fill of home-cooked food for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Pancakes, eggs & biscuits will fill you for breakfast. A burger or deep friend chicken sandwich shared with friends makes lunch even more enjoyable. Dinner can be pizza, BBQ plate, Pig salad or the famous Catfish. And after all of that, if you still have room, you do not want to miss dessert. Betty’s incredible dessert offerings include chess pie, chocolate cobbler, hot fudge, carrot, banana, strawberry or caramel cake, blueberry, blackberry & peach cobbler, pecan pie, key lime pie, banana pudding and of course, ice cream.

Betty has served her community for many years, but not just in the restaurant. She is also a County Commissioner and serves on the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce board. She is an advocate for small business, and she loves the community she gets to provide for. She attributes her success to her employees and the community that supports her. Stop by the café at 470 Highway 194 in Rossville, look for “The Original Wolf River Café” on Facebook or call ahead, 901-853-2586, to place your order. Remember to shop local and shop Fayette first!

~Written By Karri Buck~