Great American Roadsice Cafés

And American Voices by Roger Burke:

KENNEWICK, WA Bob Williamson, 50, grew up in Ft. Wayne, Indiana but by the time he arrived in Kennewick in 1983 he'd seen much of the world because his father chose a career in the U.S. Army. Since 1999 he has been the owner of the Coffee Nook Restaurant set flush against the Columbia River in the city of Kennewick (pop. 75,000) located in the SE corner of Washington  State.
There is no juke box in the Coffee Nook, but in other aspects it's a classic roadside café; it seats 48 with booths and a small counter that seats 4. When asked who was the most famous customer who has eaten or drank some coffee in the place he'll pause to reflect and mention the name of the man who lost over a 100 pounds by eating only Subway sandwiches.
Before buying the Coffee Nook Williamson had years of experience in restaurant management and hands on experience in the kitchen. What he likes best about the café business are the relationships he develops with his customers and what he likes least are the ups and downs in the economy. He recalls that after 9/11 his business went into a slump for over three months. "There were days when it seemed there was no one here," he remarked.
He thinks the best buys on his menu is his special recipe for biscuits and gravy and the chicken fried steak.
Mike Rose, 51, and his wife Michelle recently moved to Kennewick from Ellensburg where he has worked as a truck driver. As a truck driver he's eaten in hundreds of roadside cafes. When asked what he thought the number one problem in the country today was, he replied without hesitation, "The lack of integrity."
"What would you do if by magic you were made President tomorrow?"
He hesitated and then answered, "Put God back in the country."

On a typical Saturday morning in the Coffee Nook gathered in a corner can be found a group of six to eight regulars who enjoy exchanging news and gossip. Several were kind enough to allow me to ask them questions and interrupt their routine.

Bill Houchin, 75, a retired fireman, came to the Tri-Cities in 1957 from Albany, Oregon when he was assigned to a Nike missile battery at Hanford and after the Army worked at Hanford, Sandvik Metals and then for 28 years was with the Richland Fire Department. He is an admirer of former presidents Nixon and Reagan and thinks the #1 problem today in America is Barack Obama. When asked what he would do if he was president tomorrow he said, "I'm not sure there is any solution to our problems."

Ken Peiffer, 61, carpenter, is originally from Saxonberg, Pennsylvania and came west to work for the Forest Service in Pullman in 1971. He reads the newspaper daily. He thinks the #1 problem in America today is the lack of respect kids have for adults. He came from a large family of 8 brothers and 2 sisters and explains, "We all had jobs on the farm. It was the best preparation we could have for life." In addition to his own four children Peiffer and his wife raised 6 foster children.
If he was president tomorrow he thinks his most important job would be selecting the right cabinet to advise him. He has a wide range of reading interest from Zane Gray to Louie L'Amour to J.K. Rowling. He also reads the newspaper daily.

Joe Brown, 49, truck driver, was born in Kennewick. He's a veteran of the Navy where he served on a nuclear submarine, the U.S.S. George Washington. He enjoys reading and favors books and writers who write about science-fiction themes. To that end he is currently engaged in writing his own science-fiction novel.
He thinks the number one problem in America today is communications. "It's getting more and more difficult to determine who is telling the truth today from the government on down," he explained. He has hopes the Internet will reform the process. If he was made president tomorrow the first thing he would do is fix the "our broken health care system so our medical care was more like the European model where everyone would has access to basic care." Then he would try to fix our broken education system, "Where we spend more money per pupil than any other country but get less results." (746 words)

Roger Burke is a novelist.
Among his books are the
widely praised Just Another
Roadside Café (2010). His
newest novel, Wilson's
Exile, will be released in
2011.