Ashlyn 1hompson

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Palr pulled back lnLo a !ohn ueere cap, a busy woman hollers, Mom, more buns!" as she
Lhrows fresh paLLles on a slzzllng grlll. AnLlque palleL-framed phoLos llne Lhe wood panellng and
half-empLy whlLe Lrash bags flnd Lhelr home sLuffed ln corners. Slx generaLlons of grandklds are
slapped unevenly across Lhe back wall. CuLslde, a small blue awnlng ls adorned wlLh a slngle
plasLlc slgn - you wouldn'L Lhlnk much of Lhls hole-ln-Lhe-wall cafe slLLlng on Lhe corner of a
slow 8ellmead sLreeL, buL you would be wrong.

ChrlsLl's Pamburgers, locaLed a qulck drlve norLh of Waco, ls Lhe klnd of down-home place your
pappy Lakes you Lo afLer church on Sunday, Lhe klnd only Lhe locals know abouL. lor years,
resldenL Wacoans have been maklng Lhe shorL drlve up l-33 Lo Lhls classlc souLhern dlner.
erched on Lhe corner of 8eale SLreeL, ChrlsLl's shares lLs home wlLh abouL flve or slx oLher small
buslnesses. Locals know ChrlsLl and her sLaff by name and ofLen flnd Lhelr orders ready when
Lhey arrlve. WlLh boosLer seaLs hldden ln Lhe corner and mosLly kln behlnd Lhe cash reglsLer,
ChrlsLl's screams famlly-frlendly.

8uL whaL's Lhe real sLory behlnd Lhls hldden Lreasure? Pow has Lhls small-Lown souLhern dlner
sLayed Lrue Lo lLs characLer for so long?

1he [olnL was formerly ShorLy's Pamburgers, owned by Lhe Campbell famlly of 8ellmead. 1he
Campbells passed away soon afLer openlng Lhe shop ln Lhe '30s, leavlng Lhelr daughLer Lo Lake
over. Ld and !anlse Alllson were frlends of Lhe famlly from church, and when Lhey heard Lhe
Campbells were looklng Lo sell, Lhey Look a leap of falLh and boughL lL. 1he Alllsons had Lhree
chlldren, when Lhey boughL Lhe burger [olnL Lhey declded Lo name lL afLer Lhe only one sLlll llvlng
aL home, ChrlsLl.

8ack Lhen, [Lhe resLauranL] was dolng 40 pounds of hamburger meaL a day, now we run around
73, buL we've never changed much of anyLhlng," ChrlsLl Alllson sald. My daddy always sald,
'never make anyLhlng blg, keep lL slmple.'"

When Lhey opened, you could buy hamburgers for only a dollar, buL noL much else has changed
aL Lhls souLhern dlner. 1hey sLlll serve Lhe same menu lLems and many of Lhe same cusLomers.
8efore college, ChrlsLl worked afLernoons, weekends and summers fllpplng burgers. She loved
meeLlng Lhe cusLomers and worklng for her parenLs, buL swore LhaL she would never make lL a
career.

My daddy always sald, 'you don'L wanna be fllppln' burgers for Lhe resL of your llfe!' and l
would say, 'nC!'" ChrlsLl [okes.

AfLer hlgh school aL Connally, ChrlsLl wenL Lo school Lo become an x-ray Lechnlclan, buL soon
found Lhe medlcal fleld was noL for her. She flnlshed her degree ln buslness, goL marrled and
flnally declded ln 1996 LhaL ChrlsLl's Pamburgers was more Lhan [usL her parenLs' dream. lL was
home. She says she has never consldered expandlng. 1o her, lL lsn'L abouL Lhe money, she [usL
wanLs Lo serve Lhe communlLy she's grown up ln.

WlLh Lhe same geL-lL-done aLLlLude her parenLs had, Alllson arrlves aL Lhe shop four hours
before openlng Lhe shop aL 10 a.m. Lo prepare for Lhe day. 1he meaL ls freshly-ground each day
and she prepares all of Lhe Lrlmmlngs herself, chopplng each LomaLo sllce by hand.

ChrlsLl explalns, l don'L do any packaged sLuff, and l don'L cuL any corners."

She also employs several of Lhe same women her parenLs dld. ChrlsLl's veLeran employee,
MargareL Skalns, has been worklng by her slde for 17 years. 8orn and ralsed ln 8ellmead, she
was ln hlgh school when Lhe shop was sLlll ShorLy's. AL Lhe Llme, she was worklng aL Wlmpee's
Pamburgers down Lhe road, whlch held a Sunday men's group led by several men (lncludlng Ld
Alllson) ln Lown.

We were all Lled up llke famlly, everybody ln Lhls Lown," Skalns remarks. When ChrlsLl was
geLLlng marrled l goL hlred on parL-Llme. l've been here ever slnce."

Skalns lsn'L Lhe only one who feels llke ChrlsLl's Pamburgers ls home. kay Morgan ls a cusLomer-
Lurned-employee who has been comlng Lo ChrlsLl's for over 16 years. When her granddaughLer
was dlagnosed wlLh Leukemla, ChrlsLl's parenLs supporLed Lhe famlly ln every way Lhey could.

When we losL her, l was aL a loss. l had qulL my [ob Lo Lake care of her, so !anlse Look me ln,
1hey haven'L Lhrown me ouL yeL!" Morgan laughs. 1hey're all around good people, you won'L
flnd a person Lo say a bad word abouL Lhe whole famlly."

1ogeLher, ChrlsLl and her crew know almosL every face LhaL comes Lhrough Lhe door and do
Lhelr besL Lo supporL Lhe local communlLy. ln facL, ChrlsLl's only form of adverLlsemenL comes
from sponsorlng llLLle league and fooLball Leams ln Lhe area. Word of mouLh ls Lhe way Lhey
have always aLLracLed new cusLomers.

lf asked, ChrlsLl would say her greaLesL accompllshmenL lsn'L keeplng Lhe dlner ln buslness, buL
maklng her parenLs proud.

MosL people have problems one way or anoLher wlLh Lhelr parenLs," ChrlsLl says. l wouldn'L be
where l am Loday wlLhouL Lhem."

ChrlsLl calls ouL Lo you Lo come on back now" as you close Lhe door behlnd you. 1he smell of
greasy burgers and buLLery buns follows you ouL Lhe door. lL's unassumlng, a momenL frozen ln
Llme LhaL Lells a good sLory and serves an even beLLer burger.