THE TRUE STORY

OF THE SOUTHLAND RESTAURANT

There has been a great deal of confusing and inaccurate information circulating in our community concerning the original Southland restaurant in Sheffield, and I would like to take this opportunity to set the record straight.

In the mid-1940's, my mother's sister, Sarah, and her husband, J. O. Roper, owned and operated a small cafe in Paducah, Kentucky, named the Snappy Snack.  Then, around 1949, the Ropers moved back to Sheffield where they owned and operated the Gulf station located at the corner of Montgomery Avenue and Jackson Highway.  But the restaurant bug had bitten the Ropers, and in October 1950, in full Partnership with Roy and Margaret McCay, the Southland restaurant opened its doors at 1309 Jackson Highway across from what is now Helen Keller Hospital.

When J. O. had returned from Kentucky, he brought with him the recipes for unique barbecue sauce and salad dressing that had been given to him by an uncle.  His uncle claimed the barbecue sauce was over  hundred years old, and, as far as we know, this is true.  The ingredients used in the sauce became widely available after the War Between the States, and it keeps indefinitely without refrigeration.  Wherever it came from, J.O. and Roy, along with their father-in-law, J. C. Justice, began to cook barbecue that soon gained a reputation as best in the area.  The recipes for The Southland's pies come from Margaret and Sarah's side of the families and are still cooked fresh daily.  The Roper and McCay families owned and operated The Southland for the next 27 years, serving tons of our Kentucky-style barbecue and thousands of our homemade pies.  In 1977, The Southland was sold, and the Ropers and McCays retired, and both families moved on with their lives, unaware that The Southland restaurant would be in our future.

Margaret McCay repurchased The Southland restaurant in June of 1988 after an absence of 10 years, and much had changed in that time.  Roy McCay had died in 1981 and J. O. Roper in 1987.  This time around, The Southland would be operated under the direction of Margaret McCay and her extended family.  Sarah Roper enjoyed hanging out, relaxing at The Southland until she passed away in 1993.  Margaret McCay continued working until shortly before her death in 2001, handing the restaurant on to her 3 children, Phyllis, Linda and Tommy who have operated the business together for the last 5 years. 

So, if you have had enough of corporate chain restaurants (and who hasn't?), come find out why Southern Living magazine named The Southland restaurant one of their favorite catfish places or enjoy genuine Kentucky barbecue cooked in our 56-year-old pit.  Don't forget to save room for a slice of homemade pie.  Located at 1309 Jackson Highway across from Helen Keller Hospital under the big green sign.  We are the one and only original Southland restaurant and if someone tells you different, they don't know what they are talking about.