The single entry door is still locked on a recent morning at Zarzour’s, with only a faint gleam of light shining through the three front windows. Peer through the glass and you can see paneled walls lined with a photographic diary of the lives that have sustained this Southside eatery through generations of Zarzours.
Inside on this Wednesday morning, the century-old restaurant is busy with cooks and servers getting ready for the lunch rush. Owner Joe “Dixie” Fuller is taking it all in, sitting at a table in a dining room that was once a family room and home to Fuller’s great-great-grandfather, Abe Zarzour, his wife and five children. Over a cup of coffee, Fuller sits back and tells about the past and future of his family business, the people who made it happen and a few setbacks along the way.
(READ MORE: Restaurant Scene: Zarzour’s might last forever)
A LITTLE HISTORY
The small, shotgun-style brick building, a stone’s throw off Main Street at 1627 Rossville Ave., wasn’t a full-service restaurant when Abe Zarzour opened it. He sold peanut brittle and sodas in the front room and lived in the back with his family. Daughter Rose Zarzour eventually took over her father’s business, expanded the menu to include sandwiches, hot dogs and an entree or two, and transformed the soda shop into a neighborhood cafe.