Serving Memphis diners for more than seven decades
It all started at 1495 Union, on the ground floor of the Kimbrough Center. Cavallo purchased the place for $3,750. and The Cupboard was one of his customers. Bertha Reid ran The Cupboard Tea Room, which first appeared in the 1942 City Directory, according to a 1989 story in The Commercial Appeal. which allowed us to expand into a second room, making for a total of 89 seats.” Originally operated as a one-room eatery with 39 seats, the trajectory of the restaurant changed in 1992 when Charles “Chuck” “I bought The Cupboard from the IRS when an onsite auction was held for nonpayment of taxes,” Cavallo recalled. “Within a year of purchasing the restaurant, I knocked down an interior wall, Cavallo was in the produce business,
“I think it’s one of the city’s oldest eateries. I knew the consistency of the restaurant, both in terms of inventory and customers, and felt it just needed a little TLC,” Cavallo said. “I had always said that if I ever bought a restaurant, that this would be the one.”
Coming from the wholesale produce business, Cavallo added more fresh vegetables to the menu at Charles Cavallo’s Cupboard Restaurant.
“The Cupboard was always a meatand-two, or a meat-and-three, place,” he said. “But I added more dishes that focused on providing the freshest veggies in town.”
In fact, Cavallo attributes his ability to grow his business to staying in tune with the world of produce. Dishes such as Italian Spinach, Fried Green Tomatoes, Corn Pudding and Eggplant Casserole all have their devotees. And as The Cupboard celebrates more than 75 years in business, it is hard to argue with its overall success.
“In 2000, we made a strategic move down the street, from 1495 Union to 1400 Union,” Cavallo said. “With customers demanding more seating (there’s now room for 265 diners) and a definite need for more parking, it was a great opportunity to purchase our current property from Shoney’s. We’re easy to find. In fact, the stretch of street ranging between the two sites has been given the honorary street name of Charles Cavallo Avenue. Customers come by the thousands every week to enjoy our home-cooking.”
Cavallo said the response has been “overwhelming” since moving to the new location and “has moved us from being a ‘mom-and-pop’ operation to being a major enterprise.”
“Even with a number of new restaurants opening in Memphis every year, The Cupboard has remained a staple for diners,” he said. “We’re a veritable vegetable institution.”
Acknowledging people don’t cook at home as much any more, Cavallo said the home cooking at The Cupboard makes it feel and taste like you are stepping back into your momma’s (or your grandmother’s) kitchen. Add to that the emerging trend of people wanting to add more vegetables to their diet, and The Cupboard’s dishes fit the bill.
But it’s not only the vegetable dishes that draw people to The Cupboard. Cavallo cited the fact that an average of 4,000 cornbread muffins are made each day. And in 2007, the addition of breakfast offerings to the menu brought its own following.
“We started out offering breakfast in a very low-key manner, to test the waters,” Cavallo said. “Now breakfast accounts for $700,000 to $800,000 of our annual revenue.”
While some people are daily regulars, Cavallo said there is a definite composition to the crowds who pull up a chair at The Cupboard.
“At breakfast we get business executives who come in and have a private meeting, plus we see a lot of local folks who live nearby, some who start every day with us,” Cavallo said. “At lunch the business crowd continues; lawyers from the courts, doctors from the medical community, and employees from other Downtown companies. At dinner we serve more of a family crowd. In fact, we are now feeding third generations of some families.”
And it’s not just the customers who provide familiar faces at The Cupboard, some of the restaurant’s staff — folks like Miss Mae Mae, KiKi, Miss Frances, Miss Evelyn and Miss Darla — have been with Cavallo for decades.
“My brother, Lee, has been with me from the beginning, working seven days a week,” Cavallo said. “He puts the key in the door every day to start our daily operations.”
Two more faces who have been around the business since Cavallo took over are his sons Jereme and Andrew. Moments from their childhoods are captured in pictures hanging on the dining room walls. Now “the boys” are taking over the day-to-day operations, with guidance from their father.
“Our business is better than it’s ever been,” Cavallo said. “In the scheme of things, we’re actually the fourth owners of The Cupboard. However, we’re the only ones to put our name on it, and I suspect our family will be the last owners. We’re looking forward to continuing to serve our friends, who are like our family.”