Mountain Lion Restaurant

The Mountain Lion Restaurant was built about 1961 on property previously owned by David Samuel Barrett (1877-1950). Mr. Barrett owned several parcels, including the Texaco “Filling Station” on Route 20 at the South end of town, and a house on the corner of Concord and State Streets. Upon Sam Barrett’s death Henderson Preston and Margaret Phipps Shumate acquired all the property and built the Mountain Lion Restaurant and across the street the Mountain Lion Motel. Jeff Harvey mentioned in Mercer Memories (November 13, 2020) that "...Miss Verlie White, the longtime office nurse to Dr. Donzie Lilly and Dr. Uriah Vermillion, bought the home and lived there."

Kay Monohan recalled that the elder Shumates ran “a frozen custard stand called ‘Step and Fetch It’ with window service” that was on the location before the restaurant was built. Kay said her husband “remembered getting the ‘humdinger,’ which was basically a banana split in a tall clear plastic container.” Carol Kennedy, an Athens resident, worked at the custard stand when it first opened. “The restaurant was built behind the custard stand with the entrance being to the right,” Kay explained. “The custard stand remained in operation for some time after the restaurant opened,” Kay said.

The Step and Fetch It was eventually demolished, and the Mountain Lion Restaurant became popular for townspeople and college students. Dexter Bradbury who attended Concord in the mid-1960s, recalled the restaurant “was run by a lady named Hester and there was a very nice waitress named Evelyn.” Dexter said he lived off campus and ate there often, and they had “great breakfast and lunch specials.” The Mountain Lion Restaurant was also a family restaurant known to serve a full Thanksgiving meal of turkey and dressing and all the regular fixings, ham dinners, and chicken and dumplings.

During its prime Mrs. Mary Ellen DeVault Fraley ran the restaurant for the Shumates and was also the cook. Mrs. Fraley was known to be a great cook. Together with her husband George Fraley and their son Reid they made the Mountain Lion a thriving family business. The restaurant was known by many for its “good ol’ West Virginia slaw dogs and fries.” They must have been great hot dogs as they earned recognition in Verlie White’s diary; she mentions eating hot dogs, fries and sometimes strawberry shortcake at least 8 times in the month of June one year! (Verlie’s full diary appears in the Stories section of Athens We Knew.)

John Gillian, who went to Athens High School and studied at Concord and Bluefield State Universities, worked at the restaurant in 1972-73 when the Fraley’s ran it. “Bessie Cox was the cook, I made and delivered pizzas,” he said. “Mr. Fraley had an old green Vega for a delivery wagon; it didn't have a tailpipe and it sounded like a low flying plane. I had to make the pizzas and deliver them too.” John remembered one episode that got him in trouble. “The toppings for the pizzas were kept in plastic tubs on the counter in the front area where the walk-up windows used to be (like Dairy Queen). Flies were plentiful in there and one must have got trapped in the mozzarella container. I inadvertently spread it on a pizza along with the cheese. The pizza got delivered and the customer complained. Mr. Fraley was convinced that I did it on purpose and fired my ass. I would never have done something like that. I liked working there though.”

When questioned about her memories of the restaurant Phyllis Mays Keatley said she recalls sitting in cars in the parking lot with friends, but didn’t remember if they served food outside. There was a drive-in service, where customers were served from the walk-up window that John Gillian described. We speculate that the idea of a service window in the Mountain Lion was carried over from the success of the custard stand. Phyllis said there was a sign on the outside of the restaurant that proclaimed, “Root Beer in Frosty Mugs.”

Thinking about the inside of the building, Alice Jane Hutchinson Pastor remembered, “In the back was a jukebox and on it was Take Five by Dave Brubeck. I played that a lot. Also the flip side.” Alice Jane recalled, “coming in, the counter and stools were to the left and an arcade game was on the right with booths after that running along the right wall facing back. There were tables in the back of the room where families could sit down to eat together.” She confirmed what others had said, “Their slaw dogs were really yummy.”

Sharon Johnson remembered a pin ball machine on the right just beyond the entrance. There was a large window at the back of the restaurant. Mary Ofsa Dennis said the view from that window was her favorite memory. “You could see all the way to Alvis Road.”

For the teens of the area, the Mountain Lion Restaurant was a favorite spot to congregate, grab a hot dog, fries and drink and socialize with friends their age. Susanna Robinson recalled that there was occasionally live music, “big fun, great frozen custard.” Rick Eades wrote: “Loved to go there. Sometimes late summer days. Lawn-mowing money burning a hole in my pocket…. Sometimes we splurged on a pepperoni pizza. Occasionally hotdogs. But ALWAYS the pinball machine. Often had the place to ourselves. Remember going there with Jeff Johnson, rarely Larry Gumm. I think it was all in 1970-72, in my early teens.”

Many members of the Athens We Knew Facebook group mentioned individuals who worked there. Roger Pennington thought of his good friend Reid Fraley whose parents ran the place. Reid worked there as a young man. Susanna Robinson mentioned Reid, too. Debbie Kessinger Cochran said that her mom Tina Kessinger worked there in the early 1970s. Sandy Hager remembered her grandmother, Dora Prater, who worked there, and Melissa Dobbins said she believes that Kate Via worked there also. And many members recalled only first names, such as Hester and Evelyn mentioned by Dexter Bradbury.

In more recent times, Elvis Basil Shumate, son of Henderson Preston Shumate and Margaret Phipps, inherited and managed the restaurant. The business didn’t last. Eventually, the Mountain Lion Restaurant was closed and torn down. In 2024 the space where the Mountain Lion Restaurant was previously located is home to the Heavenly Health CBD shop and an attached do-it-yourself car wash.