Friday, June 10, 2005

Jim Tweel: What America is all about

Jim Tweel, Huntington restaurateur, died yesterday. He was 89. Here's a column I wrote about him and his establishment a couple of years ago:


Jim Tweel is what America is all about. When I get cynical about the way things are, I often think of Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House and I am recharged.

The downtown Huntington restaurant has been in the same location for 65 years. And the man who started it is expected to be present Saturday when folks who love Jim, his wife, Sally, and their “store,” as Jim calls it, gather to celebrate what is most certainly one of the greatest success stories in these parts.

It will be more than a celebration of longevity. It will be a celebration of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

I can recall eating spaghetti at Jim’s when I was about four years old with Uncle Wendell Stapleton who would drive all the way from Ashland, Ky., just to eat the delicacy.

Later, as a summer intern at WSAZ-TV, I’d join Bos Johnson, Frank Thompson, the late Jim Martin and the late Bill Stewart for lunch following the noon news.

When I went to work for a Huntington newspaper (What was its name again? I can’t recall) I suspect I ate lunch at least three times a week at Jim’s over 32 years. Spaghetti, fish sandwiches, cheeseburgers made with Heiner’s white bread, ham salad sandwiches and iced tea. Those were the staples. Jim was always there to greet his customers dressed in a starched white custom made French-cuffed shirt and tie that cost more than my entire wardrobe.

If you’re looking for a Horatio Alger story, it’s Jim Tweel. As a kid and the son of immigrants from the Kfier region of Lebanon, he hawked newspapers on Fourth Avenue in front of the very building where later he would establish his restaurant. In the early years, he’d work from daylight till dark in his store then don a suit and tie and play bass for a local dance band. When did he sleep? He once told me he didn’t recall sleeping much back then.

During the years of white-only restaurants, Jim’s was never white-only. Jim’s sidekick in the venture for most of those years was “Bunny” Gray who managed the cooks and waitresses at Jim’s and was perhaps the finest African-American male role model I’ve ever known. His late wife, Marion, aka “Bunche,” was a civil rights firebrand, but Bunny worked quietly behind the scenes for the cause. Bunny and Bunche made quite a pair and advanced civil rights in Huntington far more than most realize.

The Tweel’s contributions to the performing arts in Huntington are legendary and their quiet benevolence is perhaps unmatched. Jim has never forgotten that simple but overriding American tenet: To whom much is given, much is expected.

Until recently, Jim showed up part of every day at his store to greet old friends. Now, however, he only shows up for special occasions and Saturday looks like one of those. His daughter, Jimmy Carder, now runs the restaurant. Except for a few minor changes to the menu, nothing has changed, nor should it.

Even after 65 years, Jim’s is perfect just the way it is.

posted by Dave Peyton @ 5:05 PM