By Donna Thornton/News Editor
Downtown Attalla business owners are busy as they prepare for Second Saturday – the city’s monthly summer street festival that brings music, vendors and hundreds of visitors in for a night on the town.
None could be more busy than Terry Bryant, owner of The Cupboard restaurant in Attalla. Bryant’s business is open for lunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and Saturday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. for pickups. In addition to the restaurant, Bryant does a brisk business as a full-line caterer and in weddings, including cakes made to meet a bride’s specifications.
Bryant’s table is pretty full, and as she operates the only restaurant in the midst of Attalla’s street festival, she knows Second Saturday will bring plenty of business.
“Normally, for our three days of business, we’ll prepare around 100 pounds of fresh chicken a week,” Bryant said. Most of that will go into The Cupboard’s signature chicken salad, a local favorite.
“For Second Saturday, we’ll use about 175 pounds of chicken for the week,” Bryant said.
Chicken is not all that’s on the menu.
“My husband will set up the grill in front of the restaurant and grill burgers,” Bryant said, “so everyone can smell them. We call them ‘Steve’s Famous Burgers.’ We’ll sell a lot of burgers.”
While Second Saturday (Attalla traditionally has had First Saturdays, but moved this month’s event to avoid conflicts with Riverfest) brings additional work, Bryant said it’s something the business is accustomed to now. In addition to Attalla’s festival, she said
The Cupboard is also a vendor at First Friday in Gadsden now.
“We have burgers, pork chop sandwiches and chicken-on-a-stick, along with our fried pies, slices of homemade cake and fresh oatmeal candy,” Bryant said.
“We like to focus on fresh,” she explained. “We don’t have a lot of stuff made up and sitting around.”
The Cupboard is known for its specialty cakes, as well as its catering.
It doesn’t get fresher than salads, and Bryant said The Cupboard is offering some new salads this summer. “We have a honey pecan salard,” she said, “and a grilled chicken salard with strawberries and pecans.”
The Cupboard offers a lunch special Wednesday through Friday.
“Every Tuesday night I go on our Facebook page and put the special on the page,” Bryant said. ‘And every other Thursday, we have our “Beefy Nachos.
“We tried to change that and people got really ill,” Bryant said.
The Cupboard also hosts many parties. “We can seat up to 100 easily,” she said “and take care of all the food and help with decorating. We can take care of everything.”
Bryant said it is a big change from the way she began baking and catering — out of trailer in her backyard about 20 years ago.
To find out more about The Cupboard and to keep up with weekly specials, visit The Cupboard on Facebook or www.thecupboardal.com.