Bill Bates of Bates House of Turkey. (Photo courtesy of Bates House of Turkey.)GREENVILLE, Alabama -- Throughout 2012, as the Alabama Tourism Department celebrates "The Year of Alabama Food," The Birmingham News will spotlight some of the restaurants, cafes, bistros and bakeries on the list of "100 Dishes To Eat in Alabama Before You Die."
This is a weekly series that appears Fridays in City Scene.
Address: 1001 Fort Dale Road, Greenville.
On the menu: All turkey all the time — including a hickory-smoked turkey sandwich, a roasted turkey sandwich, a barbecue turkey sandwich, a turkey club sandwich, a turkey salad sandwich, a roasted turkey wrap, turkey chili and an old-fashioned roasted turkey dinner with cornbread dressing and cranberry sauce. Also, whole turkeys, turkey casseroles, turkey lasagna and turkey pot pies are available to serve at home.
A little history: In 1923, Willie Claude and Helen Bates received nine turkey eggs from his Aunt Mamie as a wedding present. While Willie Claude grew corn and cotton, Helen raised the turkeys. When times got hard during the Great Depression, it was the turkeys that kept their farm going. "Turkeys had to bail them out," their son, W.C. "Bill" Bates Jr., recalls. "That was the only thing that wasn't mortgaged." Willie Claude later went to work as a horticulturist at the VA Hospital in Montgomery, leaving his wife to take care of the turkeys. In 1946, after serving in World War II and briefly attending Auburn University, Bill Bates dropped out of college and came home to help his mother raise turkeys. Bill Bates and his wife, Teresa, along with some of their children and grandchildren, still run the family business today.
From the farm to the table: In 1970, to coincide with the completion of Interstate 65 from Mobile to Montgomery, the family opened Bates House of Turkey restaurant at the Greenville exit. Forty-two years later, it remains a popular stop for travelers going to and from the beach. "The majority of our business depends upon the interstate," Bill Bates says. "We were the only thing out there for a long time, and we got to be pretty well known as the halfway point between Birmingham, Mobile and Atlanta. And that's still the way it is today. We've had the best year we've ever had so far in sales." All of the turkeys served in the restaurant are raised on the Bates family farm in nearby Fort Deposit.
A Thanksgiving tradition: In the late 1940s, to help drum up publicity for the state turkey growers, Bill Bates presented a Thanksgiving turkey to Gov. James "Big Jim" Folsom, who then officially "pardoned" the bird to spare it from the carving board. A tradition was born, and this Thanksgiving, by Bates' count, the 64th turkey will be pardoned by Gov. Robert Bentley. "George Wallace got most of ¤'em," Bates says. "In fact, he and I got to be good friends. He said I was the only Republican he ever liked. I said, 'I guess so. I've given you enough turkeys.'" Bates has named each of the birds Clyde, after a fishing buddy of his. And after they are spared, he makes sure they find a good home.
The Year of Alabama Food.Dish to eat before you die: The hickory-smoked turkey sandwich on a sesame-seed bun with pickles and potato chips.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays through Wednesdays; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays.
Phone: 334-382-6123.
Website: www.batesturkey.com.
Email Bob Carlton at bcarlton@bhamnews.com