The World According To Carl

I originally posted this almost two years ago but only recently did a nice person by the name of Joyce Nance supply some very welcomed detailed information concerning the Weidmann’s Restaurant peanut butter crocks. I’ve included her information verbatim at the bottom of the post.

At 210 22nd Avenue in Meridian, Mississippi stands Weidmann’s Restaurant which has almost constantly been in operation since 1870. I say almost because in 2001 a group of 58 local investors bought the restaurant which had fallen upon hard times and “reinvented” it to become more upscale. The new owners closed the restaurant after serving lunch on October 4, 2001 and began the renovation process. All the old and charming accoutrements including historical and often-autographed photographs of celebrities who dined at Weidmann’s, the classic peanut-butter crocks (more on those later on in this article), carved wooden chairs, taxidermy animals on the walls and just about everything else were sold at auction. When the restaurant re-opened on New Year’s Eve of 2002 (under Good Eats, Inc, owned by Nick Apostle of Jackson and four months behind schedule), it had been transformed into an upscale restaurant on the ground floor with a fancy bistro upstairs. Locals never warmed up to the change. In fact, the outcry against this massive and radical remodeling of the beloved restaurant was overwhelming. And as the saying goes, “they stayed away in droves.” The restaurant suffered and continued to lose money when in late September of 2004, owner Nick Apostle announced that the restaurant would once again close its doors. However local businessman Fred Wile stepped forward and after twelve hours of intense negotiations with Apostle and Executive Chef Willie McGehee, Wile became the new owner. The restaurant reopened under the new corporate name LLC, Fine Dining, owned by Fred Wile and his wife Sissie. The group of investors, Weidmann’s Square, would continue to lease the building for the restaurant’s use. McGhee remained onboard as Executive Chef, however changes were made to address the failure to court those who were loyal to the old Weidmann’s restaurant along with those who perceived the renovated restaurant as high-priced and too formal. Even though all the old materials from the old Weidmann’s were long gone, efforts were made to bring back certain elements to bring back memories of that former version of the restaurant. For example, new peanut butter crocks were created in the same style as the originals and placed on each table although without peanut butter in them (due to health department restrictions) and old photographs reminiscent of the old days of Weidmann’s were hung on the walls throughout the restaurant. Apparently this approach of mixing the past into the present along with bringing back the more relaxed atmosphere seems to be working because the restaurant is still running as of this day.

When my Dad and his brother were growing up in Shubuta, Mississippi (a very small town 38 miles south of Meridian), my Grandparents would take them occassionally to Weidmann’s. This continued when my brother and I were growing up in Mississippi. While we lived in Cleveland, Mississippi we would go to Shubuta for some Christmas holidays and my Grandparents would take us to Weidmann’s. When we moved to south Mississippi (Waynesboro), my parents took us to Weidmann’s as well.

I have many memories of Weidmann’s Restaurant. When my Dad was a kid, there was a gentleman who was considered the “family waiter.” He always made it a pleasant experience for them. This gentleman stayed with the restaurant as a career and was “our waiter” even when I was a kid. He really took care of us and made my brother and me feel very welcome. Also, if my brother and I ate all the food on our plate and behaved as “little gentlemen,” we were allowed to pick a prize from the treasure chest. This was a tradition that existed when my Dad was a kid and most likely started even before then. Needless to say, my brother and I were usually on our best behavior so we could get at that treasure chest.

Upon doing the online research for some of the facts presented in this article I came across this interesting item. An antique steamboat pilot’s wheel that was used as a main light fixture inside Weidmann’s and was subsequently auctioned off in 2001 eventually was restored and now resides in a townhouse in Los Angeles County, California.

When I started college in 1981, I drove through Meridian on my way to Starkville on many instances I stopped to eat at Weidmann’s. Now that I live in Florida I haven’t been to Weidmann’s in years and frankly with all the changes, I’m not sure if I want to. It probably would be a bittersweet event for me if I did. Perhaps I will one day if I’m in the neighborhood.

An interesting story of the origins of Meridian and Weidmann’s comes via a pamphlet written and produced several decades ago by Mary Dorothy Weidmann. I have it available in a fairly large format now online (Pamphlet cover — part one — part two — part three — part four — recipe & back cover — closeup of three generations of Weidmann’s).

Another item that made Weidmann’s unique were the peanut butter crocks that were placed on each and every dining table. Each crock would contain peanut butter made in the Weidmann’s kitchen (I assume) and would have a basket of crackers next to it. It was nice to have onhand on which to snack while waiting for the meal to arrive at your table. However for kids, it was so tempting to eat too much of the peanut butter and spoil dinner. The crocks were made by local and regional potters and if you really wanted one to take home, they had them available at the front for a few dollars (I seem to remember $5 as a price when I was a teen). Sometimes a crock was knocked off a table and broken and many were sold to customers over the years so replacements were often created. I obtained a couple for sentimental reasons several years ago via ebay. They tend to come up sometimes (not as often as they used to). And although they are sometimes labeled as “rare” they really shouldn’t sell for more than twenty to thirty dollars if they are in excellent condition with no chips or cracks and have the original lid. I’ve witnessed some sell for as low as $9 and as high as $75. Since they are all handmade by various unknown potters over many decades in the Meridian region [CORRECTED INFORMATION ON THIS BELOW], each one is unique and no two are exactly alike. Each one should be hand-inscribed with “Weidmann’s Peanut Butter Since - 1870 Meridian, Miss.” in cursive script. This also makes each crock unique and never exactly the same. As far as I know, the crocks won’t have any artist’s mark on the bottom. However since the crocks were made over a period of decades, some may be marked. The ones I own and others that I have seen have no artist’s mark. The history of these crocks and specific details of where they were made are unknown as far as I know [UPDATED INFORMATION ON THIS BELOW]. Also, I know of no specific way of dating these crocks nor do I know when the tradition started but I do know it was in existence all the way to the restaurant’s initial closing in 2001 and was resurrected (although without the peanut butter) in 2004.

Back in the 1970’s when I was a kid, I was introduced to one of the co-owners of Weidmann’s, Thomas E. “Shorty” McWilliams. He was a star tailback in 1944 at Mississippi State University and earned second team All-American and first team All-Southeastern Conference honors. After the outbreak of World War II McWilliams played for the 1945 undefeated Army team in the backfield with Heisman winners Doc Blanchard and Glenn Davis. He had a brief pro career with Los Angeles and Pittsburgh that was cut short by a knee injury. In 1962, he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. I don’t remember much about the initial meeting except that my Grandfather, also an MSU alum, introduced me to him. I was a shy kid so I imagine I was very nervous.

Weidmann’s is a restaurant that holds a fond place in my heart. I have great memories of Momma and Daddy taking my brother and me to eat there. And as far as I can recall, every experience there was quite pleasant. Even though the Weidmann’s of old is long gone, there are many folks like me who remember how it used to be.

Updated information on the Weidmann’s peanut butter crocks courtesy of Joyce Nance:

The maker of the Weidmann peanut butter crocks was Stewart Pottery in Louisville, MS. Originally Tom Stewart made them and his wife, Grace, wrote the words. Later his nepew Bill made them with his mother doing the writing. Stewart Pottery is still in operation. Frank Stewart is the potter. He has made some peanut butter crocks also. His are new and are marked with his name. I believe this to be the only pottery that made crocks for the Weidmann’s. I recently purchased a crock from ebay, though without the top. Frank Stewart verified that it was made by his uncle, Tom Stewart.

Thank you, Joyce, for this information. I greatly appreciate it.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 2:05 pm and is filed under General, LinkFests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.