Descendants of a couple who purchased the Highland Park Drive In restaurant in Williamsburg more than 40 years ago are committed to keeping the business in the family. While the workload can be overwhelming at times, the family members say they enjoy working together and serving customers, many of whom have been coming there for decades. Twelve-year-old Jacob Croley stands in the parking lot of the restaurant proudly holding a stuffed elephant he won in a middle school raffle earlier in the day. He describes the restaurant as his "home away from home."
"At this point, I can recognize most people by their voice when they call in an order," says Becky Croley, the restaurant's manager and short-order cook.
Becky’s two brothers, her partner, her 12-year-old son and some family friends form the rest of the staff. Even her 4-year-old daughter spends a lot time at the drive-in, making castles out of milk crates in the back and sleeping on top of the freezer.
Becky's grandparents, Bonnie and Gorman Wilson, bought the restaurant in 1976 when Bonnie was 16 years old. They worked in the restaurant every day with their children until 2018 when they both died within months of each other.
“My grandparents are the only reason that I think a lot of the kids and grandkids still help out and do stuff," Becky says, "They remember them and they want their legacy to live on. This restaurant is their legacy.”
At age 10, Becky went to live with her grandmother and spent every day working alongside her after school. “We did everything together,” Becky says. “She told me that I was her best friend right before she passed.”
Becky's son, Jacob Croley, says the restaurant is his "home away from home” and continues the tradition by helping out at the restaurant when he has free time after school. “This place has helped me with my work ethic and made me realize that if I try hard enough I can make it big in football," Jacob says, "Football could be a way for me to get into colleges where I can learn business math. One day I want to take over this place.”
Jacob Gray, one of the restaurant’s cooks, says his uncle wanted nothing to do with his own family's business. "I was telling Becky that it’s really special to have a kid who really wants to be a part of it," Jacob says. "That's why places like this go on for as long as they do. You gotta have somebody that wants to keep doing it.”
The house Becky's grandparents lived in for years sits on top of a hill past the willow tree at the end of Gorman-Bonnie Lane. The original Highland Park sign can still be seen on the property. Becky recalls wonderful memories of having large family breakfasts there on Sunday mornings.
"I remember getting up and sitting in the kitchen and being hungry and waiting for Mamaw and Papaw to cook," she says. "They would cook side by side, just like they would down here."
Jacob's step-dad, H.D. Woods, works the fryer in the kitchen of Highland Park. H.D. worked at a plastics factory for years before coming to work as a cook at the restaurant. "It can be kinda fun and it's not as hard on my body," H.D. says.
Jacob reacts to his mother, Becky Croley, telling him he needs to make two more milkshakes. When he's not at football practice, Jacob helps out at the restaurant after he gets out of school. "We really know the people who eat here and we feel like they're more than just customers," Jacob says, "This place helps us get in touch with the community."
H.D. fills boxes with fries during the lunch rush. Even though the restaurant can get busy, he says that the stress is nothing compared to the factory work he did for 30 years. H.D. has been coming to the restaurant his whole life. "When I was growing up, my mom would give me a couple bucks and I'd walk up to Highland Park," H.D. says.
Becky, a short-order cook and manager, takes an order from a customer.
Gracie Croley, Becky's four-year-old daughter, sits in a castle she built out of milk crates in the back of the restaurant while off sick from school. Gracie enjoys spending time at the restaurant, "I like all the loud sounds. I like when the grill makes a sizzle noise," Gracie says.
Jesse Croley, a short order cook at the restaurant, heads into the kitchen after taking out the trash for the night. He jokingly notes that, despite his size, he is the "little brother" of manager Becky Croley.
After football practice Jacob eats a late dinner at the restaurant. The Whitley County high school coach recommended Jacob start playing football when he, "almost broke a kid's back," while standing up for his friend during a fight at school. Now Jacob uses football as a release for anger he feels about negative experiences from earlier in his life.
Photos of Becky's grandparents, Bonnie and Gorman Wilson, sit on the counter in the restaurant's kitchen. The couple ran the restaurant almost every day until their consecutive deaths in 2018. "The only reason that Mamaw and Papaw kept doing this was to keep family together and to take care of everybody," Becky says, "People always knew if you came here that you would always find someone who was family."
Jacob looks at the original Highland Park sign sitting against a trailer that the family uses for storage. Despite having an interest in playing professional football, Jacob thinks he's going to want to come back home after college and help to continue the legacy of the family restaurant.