A CNN poll that I saw over Valentine’s Day weekend had some interesting results. The numbers suggested that the gloomy economy has dampened the public’s interest in dining out on this special day. Most responded that they were simply planning to stay home, and others said that they wouldn’t celebrate at all.

That wasn’t the case at the restaurant that my family and I visited, however, as it was packed. Enjoying a meal at a favorite restaurant with family and friends has long been a way to celebrate any holiday.

Your once favorite restaurant, though, may be just a memory. Each year, particularly in ones that are part of a recession, we bid adieu to places that once had our favorite cuisines. Here are just a few of them from Chattanooga’s culinary past.

THE BLACK ANGUS

This was a popular place for steaks on the north shore. Located at 620 Cherokee Boulevard on the slope of Stringer’s Ridge, the Black Angus offered a great view of downtown. Restaurateurs William and Betty Stover could welcome up to 500 guests at their venue, which was styled in Spanish architecture.

The Black Angus first opened in 1964. Its signature menu item was the charcoal-broiled Chateaubriand. The restaurant had a butcher on-site to cut steaks to the owners’ specifications. In addition to beef, the Black Angus served fresh crab claws, shrimp, and lobster tails.

Open from 5:00pm to 1:00am nightly, the Black Angus treated customers to valet parking and “the most refined and genteel atmosphere in town,” according to a June 11, 1973 Chattanooga Times article.

The establishment had suffered a fire in October, 1972 that called upon the city’s new high-rise Firebird fire engine manned by Assistant Chief H.L. (Buddy) Brown and crew. Extensive redecorating included red carpeted walls and floor covering, Cleopatra-style chairs, and running water courses throughout the restaurant.

Entertainers were frequently booked at the Black Angus. Some of the nationally-known names included Marty Allen and Norm Crosby. The restaurant also was a venue where rising local and regional stars like Gerald Trentham and the Magic Rhythm Section performed.

After her husband’s passing in 1978, Betty Stover took over operation of the Black Angus. In a March 7, 1980 Chattanooga Times interview, Mrs. Stover listed some of the $2.00 dessert choices such as chocolate or crème de menthe parfait, hot apple pie, and strawberry short cake.

The Black Angus soon changed ownership, and appears to have closed by 1982, when the city directory listed its address as “vacant.”

THE PEDDLER STEAK HOUSE

The local Peddler restaurants were part of a restaurant chain in the southeast. The first in Chattanooga was located at 5845 Brainerd Road across from Brainerd Village, but later relocated to the Uptain Building.

The Peddler was one of several restaurants to enter the Chattanooga market after passage of liquor by-the-drink in the early 1970’s. Spirits were high as the public saw many new eateries open along Brainerd Road. On a typical Friday or Saturday night in the 70’s, Brainerd Road was often gridlocked with traffic, as folks often combined dinner and a movie.

The Chattanooga Times profiled The Peddler in a November 13, 1973 “Entertainment and Dining Guide.” At the time, salad bars like theirs were still a novelty, so the article explained the instructions: “Diners make their own salads, but the ingredients are set before them.” Salad bars soon were everywhere – remember when Shoney’s added rooms to their restaurants to house the salad bars?

Patrons also selected their own steaks, and watched as the beef was cut at their table and then taken to be grilled over coals. The cost was 65 cents an ounce for the steak, and it came with the mandatory baked potato, and tea or coffee.

By the mid-1970’s, The Peddler had added a second location in Hixson at Two Northgate Office Park behind the United Bank building. In its lounge, entertainers such as Tom Parnell performed nightly.

The Peddler had an extensive dessert menu, with steaming peach, cherry, and blackberry cobblers a la mode being featured items.

Locally, The Peddler appears to have exited the market by the early 1980’s. The chain continues in other locations, such as Gatlinburg, according to a Web search.

ROY PEPPER’s PORCH

By the early 1980’s, the public had become slightly bored with the traditional steak and baked potato menu. Capitalizing on this, entrepreneurs Edgar “Buddy” Tenent and Emerson Smith introduced new menu items served in non-traditional ways at their Roy Pepper’s Porch restaurant. The business took over the former location of The Peddler near Northgate Mall.

In a January 22, 1988 Chattanooga News-Free Press interview, Emerson Smith recalled the origin of the name. “I named the restaurant after a colorful character I knew while growing up in Missouri. His barbecue was out of this world.” Tenent and Smith were familiar with the Chattanooga restaurant market, having introduced Wendy’s Hamburgers locally.

Roy Pepper’s Porch specialized in barbecue ribs and sandwiches, and the meat was smoked over hickory. The side items were novel in how they were served – a loaf of onion rings, bread baked in flower pots, and coconut beer battered Gulf shrimp.

I recall going there with my young family, and that the kids were delighted by one of the desserts. It featured Gummi worms embedded in small clear plastic cups of crumbled Oreos and chocolate pudding (all to resemble dirt). Roy Pepper’s also served homemade natural ice cream and chocolate bourbon pie.

By the mid-1990’s, Roy Peppers moved to the new Wal-Mart center at 5450 Highway 153. Early in the next decade, Roy Pepper’s Porch disappeared from the restaurant scene, but remains a favorite memory of many.

If you have memories of any of these three restaurants, please send me an e-mail at jolleyh@bellsouth.net.