BLUEGRASS CAFE OFFERS HOME COOKIN' AND PLENTY OF PICKIN'

LOWNDES -- The nearly 100 people who live in the unincorporated town of Lowndes are graced with a post office, a volunteer fire department and possibly the only cafe in the United States devoted to bluegrass music.

Pictures of bluegrass bands line the walls, and bluegrass is the only music heard on the sound system. Jam sessions are held Tuesday nights, and the microphone can belong to anyone on Friday nights. Established bands play on Saturday nights.

Folk music also is welcome but not electric instruments.

Eventually, each of the 10 tables in the cafe will be named for a bluegrass great like Bill Monroe or Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.

The six proprietors of Partners Bluegrass Cafe include members of The Ezells, a bluegrass band previously based in Marble Hill and more recently in Van Buren.

The restaurant opened last month after the owners spent two months refurbishing the former Turkey Creek Cafe on Route E, 20 miles west of Zalma.

The hours are quirky. It's closed Mondays, is open from noon to 10 Tuesdays and Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays and from noon to 6 Sundays.

The cafe has a stone fireplace, a homey cedar interior and, adds Don Ezell, "is conveniently located in the middle of nowhere."

But the owners hope to draw bluegrass-lovers from Greenville, Puxico, Zalma and farther away.

Among the items on the hand-printed menu are the popular Banjo Burger, a half pound of ground chuck, chicken salad sandwiches, pies, cheesecake and Community brand coffee from Louisiana. No alcohol is served, and the restaurant is smoke-free.

"What we want is a place where you can come and eat with your friends and not feel like we're rushing you out," says Robert Young, one of the partners.

To say Partners Bluegrass Cafe has a family atmosphere is to understate the obvious. All the owners have small children who can be found sleeping in a corner or playing among the musical cases.

"If you come you're going to see them all," says Young, who also has a full-time job at the Noranda aluminum plant.

The Ezells have traveled on the bluegrass festival circuit for four years and have never come across a cafe devoted to their brand of music. "To hear bluegrass you have to go on the bluegrass circuit," Don says.

What they also have in mind is a place to hold bluegrass festivals. They have been bulldozing the land around the cafe, which naturally slopes down to a stage being constructed.

Also under construction are electrical hookups that eventually will serve 47 campers.

Reservations for the grand opening in August already have been made from Iowa, Arkansas and St. Louis. The hope is to bring in national acts eventually.

Besides Don and Marge Ezell, the other partners are their son, Rory, his wife, Melody, and friends Robert and Sheryl Young. The Youngs will run the cafe while the Ezells are off playing bluegrass festivals, which is most weekends during good weather.

The partners have varying amounts of restaurant experience, from waitressing and cooking to none. "Me and Robert eat a lot," Don says.

Sheryl makes cheesecake. Marge isn't known for any particular dish. "Just singing," Don says.

Her honey-dipped voice is an instrument that three times has earned her female vocalist of the year honors from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music Association.

Guitarist Don and bassist Marge resigned their teaching jobs in May after deciding to devote themselves to their bluegrass career. "I read an article that said you will never reach your full potential as a musician if you keep your day job," Don said.

The other members of the band are Rory, a mandolin and guitar virtuoso whose future plans include attending a seminary, and banjo player Alan Strickland.

The family atmosphere that surrounds the music drew them to start playing bluegrass nine years ago, the Ezells say.

"It's like a church family only it's a bluegrass family," Marge says.

The grand opening for Partners Bluegrass Cafe will be held Aug. 21. Ten bands, including The Ezells, will perform from 1 to 10 p.m. The concert is free.

Everyone who comes should bring lawn chairs. No alcohol is allowed on the grounds.

The other bands that will play are The Baileys & Friends, Guy Stevens & The Winning Team, Higher Ground, Missouri Bluegrass, The Bob Lewis Family, The Black Mountain Boys, Buzzard Run Bluegrass, Mississippi Valley Bluegrass and White Oak.

For information, phone 495-2581.