Friends remember Zarzour's co-owner Shannon Fuller for her honesty, openness, big heart

Staff file photo / Shannon Fuller poses at Zarzour's Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Staff file photo / Shannon Fuller poses at Zarzour's Cafe on Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn.

An outpouring of affection for the memory of Shannon Fuller met the news of her death Monday night on Facebook.

Friends and family gushed about the honesty, openness, friendliness, humor and love for which she was known.

She was also fiercely proud of her role as co-owner of Zarzour's Cafe, a 104-year-old restaurant that has been in her husband Joe "Dixie" Fuller's family since 1918.

Shannon Fuller, 57, was diagnosed with cancer in December and died at 2:21 p.m. Monday, according to her husband. He took to Facebook on her page to post a message to friends and family.

"So I am posting on Shannon's page, and I will say what I think she would want you all to know that she loved life and everyone in hers," he said in the post. "She had this way of knowing no strangers it was her passion to meet, know and remember every person's name, their kid's name, what they drank when they came through the door at Zarzour's, and how each and every one of them came to know about her little cafe.

"She would want you to know that she was fighting her cancer as hard as she could she didn't want to leave her friends who she cherished so and loved she didn't want to leave her little restaurant that gave her so much joy and pride she didn't want to leave the wonderful life she had carefully carved out for she and myself most of all, she hated leaving me."

He added his wife was committed to beating the illness and to keeping the restaurant going, and he asked people to remember her fondly.

"She made me a better person through our lives together. I thank, as did she, all of you for your love and kindness during her struggle. Think of Shannon Fuller and smile that is all she ever wanted in her life and now at the time of her death. I love you all and so did she, Dixie."

Fred Hope lives in Caine in Wiltshire, South West United Kingdom, and met Shannon Fuller several years ago while playing games online. They became friends. When he found out she was sick, he traveled to Chattanooga to see his friend.

"I met her through Words With Friends, a word game in a phone app," he wrote in an email. "We stayed digital penpals for 10 years until she became ill. I came to visit the states for the first time ever for her 57th birthday. She assimilated me into her family and huge group of friends. Visiting Chattanooga felt like coming home, not going away; it was overwhelming.

photo Staff file photo / Dixie and Shannon Fuller are the owners and managers of Zarzour's Cafe in the Southside. The restaurant is a four-generation family-owned cafe that celebrated 100 years in business in 2018.

"I am so happy I came to visit. I didn't have long to decide whether to come and I left my terminally ill grandmother at home. Both she and Shannon had the same cancer and both died within 10 days of one another. I am happier and sadder than I have been before, and I am so pleased I got to meet Shannon. She is clearly magical or something. Her sphere of influence was enormous, and she had a tremendous mix of friends from all walks of life. She was special."

Longtime radio host and podcaster Jeff Styles said he got the full Shannon Fuller treatment more than 20 years ago when he visited the restaurant for the first time. He'd just started working with Dixie at the Riverbend Festival booking bands and kept hearing about "this great restaurant" off Main Street.

"This was when Main Street was a dangerous place," he said by phone Tuesday.

After dropping his car off for repairs at a nearby shop, he walked to Zarzour's for a late lunch and was propositioned by two prostitutes and one drug dealer, Styles said. He walked in and was greeted by Shannon, who said, "Sit down. Here's a menu. We're out of half of it. What do you want?"

After introducing himself, he told her of his trek over and she said, "Yeah, that's how it is, and I'm trying to fix it."

He told the same story the next day on his radio show and immediately after the show got a note inviting him back to Zarzour's for a lunch on Shannon.

"I walked in and I was the Memorex guy in the ad with my hair blown back as she blasted me for telling that on the air. 'You set me back two and a half years,' she said.

"After she said her piece, she said, 'Now, what will you have?' We've been friends ever since," he said.

Local musician Rick Williams met Shannon Fuller in 1993 at her wedding to his longtime friend and former roommate, Dixie Fuller, and said in a phone conversation that the two were very much in love.

"I'd never met Shannon until then, but there were all these Nashville stars, and a lot of people, but those two never let loose of each other for four or five hours," Williams said.

Longtime friend Jennifer Crutchfield said Shannon Fuller was a loyal friend to even people with polar opposite viewpoints.

"She was so authentic," Crutchfield said by telephone. "She didn't try to hide a damn thing, and everything she did was with gusto. If she loved you, man, she loved you big."

Shannon Fuller started at Zarzour's in 1996 and has been the person in charge since 2016 when her mother-in-law, Shirley Fuller, died. She prided herself in serving up one of Southern Living's "Burger Bucket List" items.

The Zarzour's burger is also a favorite of locals, according to an informal Times Free Press poll.

For many who visited the restaurant, Zarzour's will forever be the image of Fuller standing at the grill or cash register carrying on a lively and colorful conversation about a favorite classic movie or news-of-the-day item with customers in the tiny front dining area.

Johnny Smith is president of the McKenzie Foundation and serves as chairman of the board of Songbirds Foundation. He is also a musician with a production company and worked with Dixie Fuller on numerous concerts and festivals, including Riverbend. He is a longtime friend to both Fullers and wrote the following on Facebook:

"I had dinner with Shannon Fuller and Dixie Fuller a few days ago. We laughed and we also cried while reminiscing about our adventures together. I didn't imagine it would be our last meal. I was her honorary 'Riverbend husband' as she affectionately titled me. My 'Riverbend wife' meant a lot to me and everyone that knew her. My last visit was Shannon yelling at me and Dixie to change the subject. After a few tries, and subsequent failures, Dixie and I wisely got her talking about what she wanted. It was perfect! I love you Shannon! You were very special to me, and I will cherish your memory. Dixie Fuller, I surround you with my love and friendship! It is a very sad day!"

Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354. Follow him on Twitter @BarryJC.

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