BY ANITA STIEFEL
ANITAS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
OPELIKA — It was in 1974 that the J. Harvey Hill family opened Opelika’s Western Sizzlin’ and 50 years later the restaurant has closed its doors for good.
Operations Director James Cooper said he and owner Jimmy Hill decided it was time to retire.
“About a year and a half to two years ago, we came to the understanding that we needed to quit putting money into the building,” Cooper said. “It was old and just not worth it. So then we needed to decide whether to build a new building or just close. If you’re going to invest that kind of money, you have to also invest the time. He’s 70 and I’m turning 64 this month, so we decided we didn’t want to put in that time.
“It’s tough to be in the restaurant business, but to keep working 70 hours a week is just too much,” he said. “I’m ready to ‘go do James’ — I’m ready to do stuff for me.”
Cooper was raised an “Army brat” and his father retired while serving at then-Ft. Benning. The family put down roots in Columbus while Cooper was in high school, and he started his career with Western Sizzlin’ on Victory Drive when he was 15 years old, rolling potatoes in aluminum foil and slicing French fries.
Cooper worked his way up through the years and eventually served as director of operations for all 10 of the Hill family’s Western Sizzlin’ restaurants.
“I did that for about 10 years, and then I’ve been back running Opelika for about the past 12 years,” he said.
He and his wife Christie have four grown children, including one in Birmingham, one in Atlanta and two in Opelika. They are looking forward to being able to spend more time with their six grandchildren, including two girls and four boys, and have plans to take them to Disney World.
“I went to a travel basketball tournament with my grandson last weekend, and that’s something I haven’t been able to do,” Cooper said. “And, for example, when I go to Atlanta to see my granddaughter, I don’t have to rush back after a couple of hours to get back to work — I can take my time and visit.”
Cooper said closing Opelika’s Western Sizzlin’ is bittersweet, and most of all he will miss seeing his customers regularly.
“Me and Jimmy Hill feel like we are the blessed ones, because this restaurant has taken care of our families,” he said. “The relationships we’ve built with the community was worth it. It’s more than just serving food — we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know all these nice people, and I mean they are some of the nicest. When things get rough, they’re always there for you. Most of my memories are good ones. The good outweighs the bad every day.
“There are so many really good people in Opelika, and I had the opportunity to work with some of the best,” he said. “There’s Sadie Floyd, who was one of the best managers ever, and Allen Ramsey, who was so tough he flipped steaks with his fingers. There’s Valerie Baker — you know, she worked 40 years for Western Sizzlin’ and I had to be the one to tell her we were closing.”
He said there are far too many past employees and customers to mention here, but he will miss every single one of them.
“I want people to know how much we appreciate our customers,” Cooper said. “We love them and appreciate all they did for us.”