Cotton’s to close Dec. 31
END OF AN ERA
END OF AN ERA
TARBORO —
A good poker player knows when to hold their cards and also knows when to fold them.
Faye Guill, the owner of Cotton’s Restaurant, says she is not a poker player, but she knows when it’s time to fold her hand. Guill announced this week she will close Cotton’s, one of Tarboro’s local landmarks, without any fanfare on Dec. 31, just as it was opened in 1971.
“When you don’t make enough money to pay the bills, then it’s time to make a change,” she said. “My customers are upset about it. I’ve been getting calls all week. We’re going to miss them. We’ve made a good living and I meet so many friends. Now, it’s time for me to move on.”
Cotton’s opened March 1, 1971 at the same location where the restaurant operates today. Guill retold the story as if it had happened just yesterday.
“My husband (Horace L. Guill) all of a sudden, had a brainstorm and decided that he wanted to change careers and open a restaurant,” she recalled. “He was running a service station. We started with just five tables. By the end of the year, he closed the service station and we begin operating the restaurant only. We slowly start adding on until we got to be a full service restaurant.”
Horace initially opened the Sinclair service station in 1953.
Cotton’s became more than an eatery — it was a gathering place for locals to start their day. Today, locals still gather there to exchange stories.
Cotton’s name originated from Faye’s husband, whose hair was “as white as a bale of cotton.” He died 10 years after the restaurant opened. By then, the business was popular and flourished into a 120-seat restaurant.
Faye Guill, the owner of Cotton’s Restaurant, says she is not a poker player, but she knows when it’s time to fold her hand. Guill announced this week she will close Cotton’s, one of Tarboro’s local landmarks, without any fanfare on Dec. 31, just as it was opened in 1971.
“When you don’t make enough money to pay the bills, then it’s time to make a change,” she said. “My customers are upset about it. I’ve been getting calls all week. We’re going to miss them. We’ve made a good living and I meet so many friends. Now, it’s time for me to move on.”
Cotton’s opened March 1, 1971 at the same location where the restaurant operates today. Guill retold the story as if it had happened just yesterday.
“My husband (Horace L. Guill) all of a sudden, had a brainstorm and decided that he wanted to change careers and open a restaurant,” she recalled. “He was running a service station. We started with just five tables. By the end of the year, he closed the service station and we begin operating the restaurant only. We slowly start adding on until we got to be a full service restaurant.”
Horace initially opened the Sinclair service station in 1953.
Cotton’s became more than an eatery — it was a gathering place for locals to start their day. Today, locals still gather there to exchange stories.
Cotton’s name originated from Faye’s husband, whose hair was “as white as a bale of cotton.” He died 10 years after the restaurant opened. By then, the business was popular and flourished into a 120-seat restaurant.
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