photograph by michael donahue
Patrice Bates Thompson and her daughter, JoElle Thompson, at The Four Way Restaurant.
Patrice Bates Thompson is quick to tell you The Four Way’s most popular items: “Turkey and dressing and the fried catfish filets.”
The amount of each sold is “very close,” but turkey and dressing probably has the edge, says Thompson, owner of the soul-food establishment. “It’s always been pretty much what I consider a staple, everyday item.”
As for the most popular sides, she says, “They kind of vary between the greens and yams. And the mac and cheese is very popular. Our most sold dessert is the peach cobbler and strawberry cake.”
Asked what makes The Four Way so popular, Thompson says, “I think our history. The longevity of the family restaurant — even though it’s not been the same family — on the same corner in that neighborhood.”
“We cook with passion and love. And we take pride in what we do. I’m sure we’re not only going to give you a good product, but good service.” — Patrice Thompson
That history includes “just having notable people to come through. Famous people.” Among them, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and “a lot of people from just all over the country.”
Thompson is part of the Bates family that has owned the restaurant since 2002. Her parents, the late Willie Earl Bates and the late Jo Ellen Bates, bought the restaurant that Clint and Irene Cleaves originally opened at Mississippi and Walker in 1946.
photograph by the thompsons
Michael Donahue indulges in turkey and dressing, yams, and greens.
Of course, the appeal is also the food. “We cook with passion and love. And we take pride in what we do. I’m sure we’re not only going to give you a good product, but good service.”
When she was still working as the office manager at nearby Metropolitan Baptist Church, Thompson could walk to The Four Way in five minutes. Her duties — all of which she still does today, if needed — included cooking in the kitchen, working the register, and serving customers.
Thompson also is in the enviable position of being around all that great food. Asked which is her favorite item, she says it’s “probably neck and neck: the fried fish and fried chicken wings. Oh, the way we cook them. They’re so crispy. When we first started we had a saying here, ‘Every bite’s a delight.’” The outside of the fried chicken and fish is “crispy and good,” while the meat is “still juicy inside.”
The Four Way’s cabbage is one of her favorite side items. “Some people like their cabbage soaked till it’s almost what I would consider mushy,” she says. “Some like theirs when it’s still crisp. Ours is kind of in-between. The longer you cook cabbage, the softer it gets. We don’t cook it till it gets soft.”
Thompson also has her favorite food combination: macaroni and cheese with yams. “I do not care for my foods to touch, but those are two things that can. The mac and yams give me a little extra yam juice. With a little cornbread, that’s my heaven.”
The Four Way Restaurant is located at 998 Mississippi Boulevard.
