We bet the meat-and-three lunch specials at the Tip Top Restaurant on Garnett Street in Henderson, N.C., were outstanding in their day. More than likely, the workers from the cotton mill just down the street flooded into the place in days gone by. [See our entry on the mill.]
But the Tip Top doesn’t offer three home-cooked meals anymore, a sure victim of globalization and today’s economic times in the Southern Crescent. A review from 2003 recalls the restaurant as having a relaxed atmosphere that offered good food, “just like being at home.” Said the reviewer: “‘Eating Out Can Be Fun” has been their slogan for 48 years!'”
Henderson, part of Vance County, had 15,320 people in 2010, according to Census estimates. Almost two thirds of residents are black. A third of residents live at or below the federal poverty level. In April 2013, the county’s unemployment rate was 11.7 percent.
Photo taken July 24, 2013 by Andy Brack, © 2013. All rights reserved.