Britling Cafeterias

Britling Cafeterias was a chain of cafeteria-style restaurants, originating in Memphis, Tennessee. During the late 1920s, Britling opened three cafeterias in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

Little information about the beginnings of the company is publicly available, except that it was owned by John H. Holcomb of Birmingham together with a partner in Memphis. Originally the Birmingham and Memphis cafeterias were one company, but in about 1930 the partners split, with Mr. Holcomb buying out the Birmingham operation. They agreed that the Britling name be continued in both locations.

In their heyday, the Britling cafeterias were local institutions in Birmingham and Memphis, particularly the earlier downtown locations. The Highland Avenue location in Birmingham was a popular gathering spot in the late 1940s and 1950s, even featuring live music and seating in a balcony overlooking the main floor; the two downtown Memphis cafeterias were similar. Sunday afternoon lunch at Britling's was a tradition in both cities.

One of the downtown Memphis locations is noteworthy not only as a local landmark of its era, but for one of its former employees: Gladys Presley, mother of rock and roll legend Elvis Presley. A display at Graceland memorializes the Britling Cafeteria and her work there.

Both chains fell into decline in the 1970s, as fast food restaurants became increasingly popular and widespread. In both cities, the Britling management tried to counter this trend by expanding into suburban locations, a move that was successful for a time. In Birmingham, the chain opened locations on Highland Avenue, in Mountain Brook, and in popular shopping centers such as Eastwood Mall (two locations, one at each end of the mall), Western Hills Mall, a small shopping center in Hoover and Five Points West Shopping City. These eventually became the only locations, as the three original downtown restaurants were closed by the end of the 1960s. The Memphis management tried the same diversification, with several locations in suburban shopping centers eventually replacing the downtown restaurants. As the two companies struggled against the competition, the remaining cafeterias were converted into all-you-can-eat buffets; this was done with at least three Memphis locations and the one remaining Birmingham-area store in Hoover in the 1980s. The measure was only successful in the short term, and two Britlings finally closed or sold off their Birmingham and Huntsville locations. The Hoover location was sold and became Battle Buffet, which itself closed in the early 1990s.

The Britling chain in Memphis, along with B&W Cafeterias in Nashville, Tennessee and Blue Boar Cafeterias in Louisville, Kentucky, were under common ownership in their latter years. Of all of those, only two Blue Boar locations in Louisville remain as of 2006.