SWEETWATER, Texas – Heading out on I-20 just west of Abilene, you’ll find a town known for their annual rattlesnake roundup.
While you can sample snake here, there’s a much more satisfying snack to slither to in Sweetwater: Allen’s Family Style Meals.
Billy Allen keeps the legacy of this poultry palace clucking along with his sister Suzan. These siblings grew up with this business.
“This was our home place. My dad was born in a bedroom up here,” said Billy.
Back in 1952, their grandmother Lizzie Allen started cooking fried chicken for flocks of famished folks.
“I think it took a little time to get things going, maybe when she got this table where she filled it up every day, she knocked that wall out there and put another table in, and just did that ‘til she filled both of them up and then she took another wall out and put another table in, and eventually she had all the walls down. And that’s where we are today,” Billy said.
That included in the kitchen, where Suzan keeps the home fires burning by sticking to Grandma’s methods.
“I got my chicken here, my dip, and I flour it up right here,” said Suzan. “This is kind of a secret dip, we don’t tell nobody about this.”
But it’s not just chicken, grandma’s recipes for creamed corn, carrots, potatoes, mac n cheese, okra, beans and more are served hot and fresh every day. Once you pay to enter, it’s all you can eat for anything on the table.
Traditions are strong here at Allen’s and that’s exactly the case when it comes to seating. With 6 tables each seating 10 people, you can bet you’ll be breaking bread with another weary traveler – and for some, that’s just too much!
“Very few, but there are some that say, ‘No, I’m not going to eat with them,’” Billy said. “You’ll have to go somewhere else. And when you’re sitting there talking to somebody, somewhere down the line you know somebody that they know and it’s interesting.”
Kirby Shadle my look like a colonel but he’s a big fan of the savory sweetwater chicken. Having this meal takes him back to a different time.
“Sunday meals, family reunions, Sunday potluck at church, old-timey food. It’s definitely raised, came out of the garden. Didn’t have to go to the store,” said Shadle.
Once you do get a chance to sit down, it’s just like being at home and you can’t be shy when it comes to what you want! But once you get all the fixins, you’ll see what all the fuss is about.
“Even if you don’t like chicken you’ll love this chicken,” Shadle said.
So if you’re looking for a down home meal with a Texas tradition that hasn’t changed since 1952, stop by Allen’s Family Style Meals in Sweetwater for an experience that’s stayed true to the vision of Lizzie Allen and is well worth a stop on The Texas Bucket List.
“I would recommend it to everybody. It’s great. I’ve ate at a lot of places, lot of different cuisine foods, and it’s good. It don’t matter, I always want to come back here,” said Shadle. “It’s family. It’s family here, you know.”