life
DRIVIN’ FOR LUNCH
Sharing Favorite Foods with Family and Friends by Ray Linville
If you want a lot of great home-cooking, your best bet is the all-you-can eat Southern buffet at Fuller’s in Pembroke. Although Fuller’s is open daily, the Sunday crowd seems like family and makes the restaurant lively. On that day more tables are taken by family groups than on other days. Tonya Rouben, who grew up in Pembroke, was having lunch with 11 family members who still live in the area. Now living in Atlanta, Rouben says, “I wish I had a place with home-cooking like this where I live. I love the barbecue and fried chicken. “A lot of Lumbees are in the kitchen cooking. It’s hard to beat Native American cooking,” she adds. At a table for eight, LaVica Farmer of Fayetteville was eating with her sisters in faith, including one who is 93. All are members of Bethany Presbyterian in Lumberton that was formed in 1875 and has a historic African-American legacy. Some are descendants of families who established an adjoining academy in 1903 and built the current church building in 1938.
16
OutreachNC.com | JANUARY 2020
They were with Rev. Helane Church, the pastor at Bethany, and were spending the day praising the Lord, eating Southern food and praising the Lord again. They had just attended the 9 o’clock service in Lumberton conducted by Church before coming to Fuller’s for lunch. Then they were attending an afternoon service, again conducted by Church, at Freedom East Presbyterian in Raeford. “Not only is the food delicious, but the service and atmosphere are a treat, so warm. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been here. We come here as often as we can,” says Farmer. Although she did not make one of the iconic collard sandwiches, Farmer says she came close. “I got some fatback, fried cornbread, and ate them with collards,” she adds. The church ladies appreciate Fuller’s approach to serving fish. “We like ours with the bone in, which is what is on the buffet, but they also made a bowl of boneless just for us. This is a treat,” says Farmer, holding a piece of croaker. Elder Linda Carter of Lumberton remembers eating at the original location of Fuller’s in that city. It opened in 1986 but was closed permanently after being inundated