TOMPKINSVILLE, Ky. (WTVF) — A question for you. Have you heard of the Dovie burger? If you know Tompkinsville, Kentucky, it's practically legendary. Dovie's has been part of Tompkinsville since 1938. There's a major new chapter in the story.
"I don't remember the first time I came here, I was so young," Holly Cole said, sitting behind the counter at Dovie's.
"We grew up coming here," added her sister Heather Leavitt. "A lot of it is roots for us."
Heather and Holly are amazed by how much of Dovie's is the same from their childhood. That's always been by design according to Reed Moore.
"My grandfather started it in 1938," Reed said. "This was originally a covered wagon. They sold hamburgers out of the covered wagon. My grandfather was the county clerk at the time, and his sister was Dovie. She needed a job. He started this little restaurant. It was Dovie's. She ran it until she died in her 70s."
Generations of Reed's family have owned Dovie's for about 87 years.
"It is an icon," Reed said.
"The burgers are really good, so that helps!" Heather added.
NewsChannel 5 has actually visited Dovie's before. It was 40 years ago. 1985. It was then the people who ran the restaurant told us what makes a Dovie burger.
"We mix [the patties] with bread in them," Reed's father explained in the 1985 clip. "They're a soft-type hamburger."
The burgers have not changed, but something else has.
"It was time to sell it," Reed said.
For the first time since 1938, Reed's family does not own Dovie's.
"My children are busy," he explained. "They have lives of their own. I'm 70, and I've kinda decided it's time to do what I want all day, every day!"
Reed put Dovie's up for auction, hoping someone could take it who also has roots with the place.
"We got lucky!" Heather said.
Yes, Heather and Holly own it now. Holly worked in health care and Heather works in real estate, and the sisters now live in Hendersonville, Tennessee. They said this bid was just speaking to them.
"I think it's gonna work out just fine," Reed nodded.
"Can you keep this going another 90 years?" I asked the sisters.
"Oh yeah! I say 190!" Holly answered.
So, what's the secret behind keeping a place going since 1938?
"Simplicity," Reed said. "It's a good product. People like it, and you can get the same thing every time you come in."
There is definitely that. Heather and Holly see some other things. I brought everybody that story from 1985 to watch.
"Irene Geralds," Reed said with a smile, watching the 1985 video of a woman furiously flipping burgers into buns. "She was here for years. Very good lady."
"It really comes down to love," Heather said. "It's friends. We gotta keep it going. It's just the heart of the community.
"I wanna keep it the same as when we walked in when I was three or four-years-old," Holly added. "We're really honored to be able to take on that tradition."
Do you have a positive, good news story? You can email me at forrest.sanders@newschannel5.com.
Happy Birthday to the YMCA of Middle TN. They just celebrated their 150th anniversary! A lot has changed with the Y over the years. I have personally seen some of that firsthand when I was a long-time board member at the Northwest Family Y and part of their Black Achievers Program. Forrest Sanders has a look back.
- Lelan Statom
