As a trucker logging 12,000 miles a month, Byron Potts used to enjoy home cooking only 30 nights a year until his wife and daughter took matters into their own hands.
Cissy Bennett worked with her parents at their trucking company for 15 years until April 2005, when she purchased the Broad Street restaurant Soups On from its previous owners, Don and Linda Rowland.
Despite having no experience running a restaurant, Ms. Bennett said she and her mother, Nancy Potts, decided it was time to get her father off the road, whatever it took.
Now, with Mrs. Bennett's daughter, Taylor, on staff, three generations of the Potts family work at Soups On.
"We wanted to stay together as a family because we'd been in business together forever," Mrs. Bennett said. "This was just kind of an accident.
"We took a shot at it, and it's worked."
Now, anyone can enjoy home cooking that once was a Potts family rarity. Many recipes came with the restaurant, but about a third are Potts family originals. Some, like Granny's Goulash, date back to Mrs. Potts' mother, Mrs. Bennett said.
Soups On will celebrate its fifth anniversary Wednesday, but when they started out, Mrs. Potts said she and her husband never intended to stay on as long as they have.
"I told her, 'I will give you 18 months. After that, you're on your own,' " she said, laughing. "Now, we're on year five."
"This restaurant keeps us moving."
Although only four members of the Potts family actually work at the restaurant, the Soups On family grows with every new regular, Mrs. Potts said.
"We love the people," she said. "We have people who eat with us five days a week."
"We have people coming in here we haven't seen in 20 or 30 years," Mr. Potts added. "That's a plus."
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Cissy Bennett, 48
* Duties: Owner, hostess, server.
* Favorite thing to cook: Macaroni and cheese.
* Least favorite thing to cook: Anything else.
* Comfort food: Chicken and dumplings.
* If she wasn't cooking, she'd be: Relaxing on a beach in Florida.
Taylor Bennett, 16 (Cissy's daughter)
* Duties: Evening hostess, server, busser.
* Favorite thing to cook: Anything on the grill.
* Least favorite thing to cook: Deviled eggs.
* Comfort food: Cupcakes.
* If she wasn't cooking, she'd be: Riding a four-wheeler.
Nancy Potts, 69 (Cissy's mother)
* Duties: Kitchen manager, chef, food runner.
* Favorite thing to cook: Shrimp New Orleans soup.
* Least favorite thing to cook: Chicken and dumplings.
* Comfort food: Vegetable soup.
* If she wasn't cooking, she'd be: Taking photos, riding a motorcycle.
Byron Potts, 71 (Cissy's father)
* What he does: Prep chef, baker, food runner.
* Favorite thing to cook: Mexican cornbread.
* Least favorite thing to cook: Anything that involves peeling potatoes.
* Comfort food: Chicken and dumplings.
* If he wasn't cooking, he'd be: Driving a motor home cross-country with a motorcycle on the trailer.
IF YOU GO
What: Soups On.
Address: 3301 S. Broad St.
Phone: 267-1557.
Website: www.soupsonbroad.com.
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Fridays. Closed weekends.