The Charlie & Rogene Cupp family officially closed the doors this past Saturday at 114 Teel where Charlie’s II has served the community for some 35 years. Daughter Missy and husband Jerry Stevens hope to continue the family business by re-opening at a new location as soon as possible.
“I want to thank everyone that came to help,” said Mrs. Rogene Cupp. “It was just unbelievable. We had close to 30 men with trailers lined up to help us move, and more people helping inside. I want to give a special thanks to David Wilkerson who helped us in such a big way by giving us a place to store all of our equipment. Special thanks also to Christy Finto who worked day and night to help Saturday and Sunday, and her mom who brought us some delicious homemade muffins to cheer us up. It was just amazing. We had one trailer after another pull up to help us move.”
In 35 years you make a lot of friends,” Mrs. Cupp adds, and that’s perhaps what she’ll miss the most until Charlie’s re-opens….friends who have become more like family to the crew at Charlie’s II.
“I am too old to start over, but Melissa and Jerry would like to carry on, and I’ll be there to help every step of the way. I have always looked forward to seeing Melissa take over the family business one day. She was in high school when she first started helping out at Charlie’s. She is great with people and whatever needs to be done, she’s there to do it. I couldn’t have done it without her help during this transition. Don’t forget Charlie’s…Melissa and Jerry will be opening up again soon, and I am so proud of them.”
Missy is proud to carry on the family business.
“My mom has worked so hard to create the family atmosphere that is Charlie’s II. So many babies have had their first family meal at Charlie’s and grown up eating here. The outpouring of memories and stories that people have shared about Charlie’s is just amazing. I have always wanted to carry on the tradition my mom and dad have started. It’s a legacy, it really is. People love Charlie’s and they love my parents because they have done so much for the community. Charlie’s II is not just a place to eat, it is a place that people in the community have come together to help others. Over the years Charlie’s II has raised thousands and thousands of dollars to help community organizations and people in need.”
Missy adds, “We are very blessed to have been able to serve so many people in our community. I love our small community and how we all come together and help each other. Thank you to everyone that helped us on Sunday. This all happened so fast. We are still working on figuring out how we can finance it, as well as looking at properties, so we can find a way to make it work.”