His eggs, toast, ham and other breakfast fare have always come out fast, usually served to him by a friendly face, someone who knows his name and whose name he knows.
But now, he’s must get used to something a bit new. Mac’s has moved just up the highway to the old Shoney’s restaurant building, which had been vacant since late February. Mac’s owner Dave Whitney opened in the new location May 18.
For Caldwell, it means that the drive from Pinebluff takes slightly longer. That is about the only difference he has noticed.
Caldwell said he couldn’t be happier. Eating at the new location of Mac’s No. 1 two days after it opened, Caldwell said it’s exactly the same — friendly atmosphere and good service.
He never had any particular allegiance to the original Mac’s building.
When the old Mac’s restaurant was too busy, as it often was on weekends, Caldwell would often drive to Carthage to eat at the Mac’s there. It was just as nice.
Chatting with the cooks, the waitresses and the other regulars is what draws him to Mac’s.
“I’d rather come eat here than anywhere,” he said. “Here, you just be yourself. Everybody laughs.”
He might not have to drive to Carthage anymore. The new Mac’s building seats almost three times as many people as the old one did.
But then again, judging by the number of cars in the parking lot, he might.
“I’d hate to see it this Sunday,” he said. “This parking lot hasn’t been this full in 20 years.”
Caldwell had been sitting at the counter, chatting with Tommy Gooden, who was in town to play golf. He lives near Asheville. Caldwell started up the conversation, because he heard Gooden’s accent and thought maybe he was from the mountains.
“Turns out I work for his (Caldwell’s) brother,” Gooden said.
As the two talked, Whitney passed by behind the counter on his way to the kitchen.
“Hey Dave,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell, who started eating at Mac’s two years before Whitney bought it from Mac Mills, remembers Mac’s being one of the few restaurants that stayed open during the winter storms that have assailed Moore County in the last few years. Crews from the various power companies would stop in to eat there. Caldwell especially appreciates that. He works for Lee Electric.
Gestures like that have enabled Whitney to build a collection of regular customers. And by “regulars,” Whitney means people who eat at Mac’s either every day or almost every day.
“We have some very, very loyal customers,” he says.
Shoney’s also had a group of regulars who were upset when the Aberdeen restaurant closed. According to Whitney, many of them now eat at Mac’s.
If he doesn’t watch out, he might run into one of the problems he had with the original Mac’s — it was too busy. He says the Yogi Berra saying, “nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded,” definitely applied to the original restaurant.
There were other problems with the red building. It was old, and it really didn’t fit with the identity of the other Mac’s restaurants, which have sprung up all around the county. There are now seven.
But Whitney can’t help feeling just a little bit sad when he drives by the place where eight years ago he started flipping pancakes and frying bacon with only four other employees. Seeing it vacant is a bit of a shock. He wants to lease to another local business, provided it doesn’t serve breakfast. Vito’s is a possibility, he said.
Whitney, who owns 11 businesses including Bada Bing Bagels and Sunny Side Up Tanning, says he hasn’t lost sight of his beginning.
“It all originated there,” he said. “It’s the American dream.”
Shutting down the original Mac’s may have been tough sentimentally, Whitney said, but it’s been a solid business move. He said his s business has tripled.
He didn’t run out any of his regular’s, either.
Deon Cox of Whispering Pines said he was excited when he heard the restaurant was moving. He’s been eating at Mac’s for two years.
“It’s a great place to stand and meet. Talk. I got excited,” he said, looking around at the dinning room. “It’s packed.”
Adds Caldwell, “It’s all right down here.”
