Staff Photo by Allison Carter/Chattanooga Times Free Press - Nov 13, 2010 - Saturday in Rossville, Ga. Phyllis Cabe, owner of The Big Biscuit Barn, serves Sam Huxley, of Knoxville, a cup of soup and a biscuit at The Free Bread and Soup Line.Phyllis Cabe's accidental discovery of a sketch of men huddled together waiting for bread and soup during the Great Depression set into motion an idea that stewed in her mind for five years.
Three years ago, Cabe opened the Big Biscuit Barn in Rossville. The regular customers quickly became more like family members and began telling Cabe their stories. The insight into the lives of her customers opened her eyes to life's struggles.
"When I opened the Biscuit Barn ... I was very naive as to how things are in the world, you know," she said. "I've always been able to pay my bills, and not everybody can do that."
The knowledge that people around her struggled to make ends meet revived her memory of the image of the men waiting in line for food 80 years ago. The sketch by artist Reginald Marsh, her loyal customer base and the restaurant's family atmosphere were the perfect ingredients to produce a grand gesture of love: the Free Bread and Soup Line.
On Nov. 13, Cabe and company started cooking early. A sign out front advertised the event, and Cabe put the word out on Facebook, as well.
"This is not for just, you know, to get anything in return," Cabe said. "Maybe somebody will just smile. You know, maybe it will make their day better."
The free meal - paid for by Cabe and other Big Biscuit Barn employees - consisted of homemade vegetable soup and a biscuit and was accompanied by conversation that lasted throughout the meal.
"If you give a bowl of soup away and a piece of bread and you make a friend, you have made something that most people don't have really all their life," Cabe said.