Sophia (left) and her mother Julie McCullah take a moment to talk and drink coffee together while working to get the restaurant ready to open. The two frequently find moments to talk and laugh together, even during the busy parts of the day.
In one booth, Sophia McCullah sits with a coworker, sipping coffee and discussing the upcoming elections. In another, Elizabeth Higginbotham shares fries and a sausage patty with her young daughter. Kool and the Gang's "Get Down On It" plays throughout the building. Just as they finish eating and clearing their tables, the restaurant opens for the day.
Moments later, Ralph Childress enters the restaurant, leans his cane against the wall, takes a seat in a booth and orders a cup of coffee.
"This restaurant was built when I got my driver's license," he says.
In the 1960s, when the drive-in restaurant was first opened by sisters-in-law Geraldine Buhl and Emeline Alder, it was one of two stops on what Childress called "The Loop," a route Williamsburg kids would drive around the city. "It was just a good stopping place," he says.
When the restaurant came up for sale in 1999, it was purchased by Wesley Chapman, Geraldine's grandson and Emeline's great nephew, and his wife, Julie McCullah.
While the couple owned the restaurant, another woman ran it, Julie says. But after her husband died in an accident in 2005, Julie took over. Not only did she need the income, but it helped in her healing.
"It's kind of comforting knowing that this belonged to his family, and that I'm still here and involved in it," she says. "It's definitely been something that helped me through it. It kept me busy, it gave me something to focus on."
When Julie's daughter, Sophia, was three or four years old, she began coming with her mother to work. Sophia, now 18, began picking up shifts as a waitress and cook when she was 16.
"People have watched her grow up here," Julie says.
Sophia has several other jobs and is taking business classes at University of the Cumberlands. While it may be a problem for many, working with family isn't an issue for Sophia and her mother.
"It's challenging sometimes but we get along well," Sophie says. "We have respect for each other."
Julie says Sophia didn't initially seem to have an interest in the restaurant. But as she's grown up, that's changed, Julie says. While there are no concrete plans, Sophia says taking over the business down the road has always been an option.
"It just depends on what she wants to do with it, and when she's ready to let go of it, where I'm at," Sophia says.
Since opening, the lots where customers would park and order to have their food served to them by bellhops have been replaced by a patio and a dining room. The menu now includes items such as frog legs, chicken wings and alcohol. But the restaurant is still known mainly for its fresh-pressed patties, Julie says.
“Burgers are our thing,” she says.
G&E Burgers has always been known for selling quality burgers, says Julie. Each morning before opening, cooks prepare about 30 pounds of patties.
Sophia takes a moment to make a phone call and sip a cup of coffee before joining her coworkers for a quick breakfast before opening the restaurant. The breakfast gives the employees a moment to relax and socialize before the restaurant opens to the lunch rush.
A patio and dining room were constructed in the places where cars used to pull up to be served at the restaurant. The restaurant has stood along US-25W since before the interstate was built. "This right here was the main drag," Julie says. "It was very alive."
Madison Gritton has been serving at the restaurant since April. Julie and Sophia both say many of the employees at the restaurant become like family to one another.
Interactions between Julie and her daughter when they're working frequently lead to smiles and laughter. "She has worked down here for me and become a big part of it," Julie says of her daughter. "She's a big help to me."
As the usual dinner rush begins to slow, customers continue to fill booths in the original part of the restaurant. "Sometimes I'll see a group sitting without any food on their table and think I forgot to serve them," Sophia says. "But then I realize they already ate and are just hanging out."
Handwritten tickets hang in the kitchen during the dinner rush. Sloppy handwriting and strange abbreviations sometimes lead to misunderstandings between the servers and kitchen staff, they say.
Dwight Jenkins (left) enjoys a meal with his nephew, Calvin Jenkins, at G&E Burgers in Williamsburg. Calvin currently lives in Germany but is getting ready to move back to the area.
Julie and Sophia work in the kitchen at G&E Burgers. Julie and her husband bought the restaurant in 1999, and after he died in 2005, she found comfort and healing in running it.