FOLLOWING A VISION AND MAKING MEMORIES ON HISTORIC DOWNTOWN CORNER – How Tailgaters Burger Co. Has Become a Beloved Cornerstone for the Future
What is one of the first places you think of in Hope to celebrate just about anything from a Friday night date to gathering after a sports win, to a 50th Anniversary or maybe a wedding proposal? It’s a place that’s perfect for making memories.
It’s Tailgaters Burger Company.
Memories have been made in one form or fashion at that corner of Main and Division in the downtown heart of Hope for well more than a century.
And now 2023 Citizen of the Year Sharon Caldwell and husband John are providing the perfect backdrop for the newest generation to experience the warmth and mellow vibe that emanates from a building that has seen a lot since its early construction.
As most know, Hope was founded by commerce that was generated by the ribbon of railroad tracks running East and West through the heart of Hope. The train depot naturally was within walking distance of downtown establishments. Folks needed to be fed and many needed a comfortable room. And, that particular corner was home to the Capitol Hotel and later the much-loved Jack’s NewsStand.
How did it all begin? Let’s rewind the tape.
Sharon has been married to husband John for 27 years with a blended family of four plus a host of grandchildren whose number ranges in the teens. Daughter Katy has been with Tailgaters since they opened the doors, and a grandchild is expected to join the staff soon.
How about the name Tailgaters? The simple reason behind why a hamburger restaurant? And how did it NOT almost happen in its present location?
“We were all sitting around my pool and just said “Wouldn’t “Tailgaters” be a cool name?”, Caldwell recounted. And a name was born that easily.
“The way the restaurant came about was that John and I would go to Dallas, and we’d go with my sister and others to eat at a simple burger place there. It wasn’t anything special, but once on the way back, I asked John “Wouldn’t it be cool to open a restaurant?”
“And John replies, “You want a restaurant? We can do a restaurant.”
“And so, he brought me down here where Jack’s NewsStand used to be. I walked in for the first time, and I looked around and said, “Nope, not happening.” The building was in such bad shape.
“But he said this was going to be the only place he would put a restaurant. He understood the history of the location and I didn’t.
“So, he had the vision, and he had a very good vision,” Sharon admits.
When they arrived to begin their work, downtown needed a heartbeat. It needed to be resuscitated.
It needed Tailgaters.
“When were building the restaurant, there was an older gentleman who came in and said, “This is really cool to see because my father once worked here,” Caldwell states. “And throughout the years we have gotten to hear the stories of Jack’s NewsStand.
“My husband used to ride his bicycle down here when he was a kid and try to get in,” she says with a chuckle as kids of that day stayed outside the mostly gentleman’s “news gathering” establishment because…just because.
Any regrets early?
“No regrets, but I swear after the first six months after we opened, I’d sit across the street and nearly cry because nobody would come down here,” Caldwell remembers.
“So, it took at least six months and then the lighting of downtown really helped get it started.”
Once inside the establishment, visitors are greeted with a great gathering of items from relic gas station signs on the wall, an actual tailgate from a truck used as an eating bench, and from the ceiling dangle antique bicycles, old metal push-pedal cars that many grew up with and other nostalgic mementos.
All of the credit for the eye-catching decorations goes to husband John, the man with the original vision.
“I must give 100 percent credit to him. We always walk in and discover something new like a truck he’d be hanging from the ceiling,” Sharon says with a smile.
“He knew what Hope was like from being here as a child and he had 100 percent a clear vision.”
It’s the food that sits you down and while wanting to stay longer inside Tailgaters. From classical hamburgers made to order, to hand-crafted sandwiches (ya’ gotta have the Reuben), Nathan’s brand hot dogs are served in several classic and eclectic varieties. There are delicious and innovative salads and their hand-cut French fries will fill out any order. There’s not enough space to cover the many other items.
But it’s the memories, though, that are made while inside their walls. Stop and sort of soak in the historical value. The original brick walls sort of gently absorb the din of the room with music always playing in the background. It’s more than just a meal folks.
“We’ve added a few things to the menu and tweaked a few things along the way, but that’s what you must do in life too.,” Caldwell says.
Not truer words have ever been spoken.
It’s been a lesson in patience and learning for a couple who have n-e-v-e-r run a restaurant before. The odds of making a restaurant successful on the first try are likely astronomical.
One of the biggest successes of downtown since Caldwell and Tailgaters arrived is Train Day which is traditionally held around the first Saturday in May.
“It all started with Amtrak bringing a couple of train cars and parked them that weekend way back,” Sharon recalls. “We had the 5K and some other things that year. But the next year the Arts Council wanted to meet to discuss Train Day.
“So, I get there and there are two chairs and when I sat down in one of them, one of the others said, “Congratulations, you are now the first chairperson of Train Days. It was sort of planned out that way ahead of time,” Sharon smiles.
Caldwell states that it takes a small coalition of agencies and businesses now to make the event the success that it is.
Today, Train Day features a wide array of events that draw large crowds to take in the classic car show, bar-b-que cook off, 5K race, live music, dancing and gymnastics from local clubs and many other activities that appeal to the entire family. It truly is a day of good, clean, fun.
After 12 years, does it feel like the roots of Tailgaters have taken place?
“It does feel like that,” Caldwell says. “What warms my heart more than anything are the kids that are working here with me and watching them all grow up inside here. But that’s what keeps me going,” spoken like a true mom.
What about the metamorphosis that the downtown area seems to be enjoying? It’s taken a lot of time, planning and cooperation. Tailgaters sort of serves as the anchor store for the other businesses to attach themselves and prosper.
“Maybe we had sort of anchored downtown although Bob Irwin and LaGrone Williams hardware store plus Western Auto have been here forever,” Caldwell quickly reminds.
“They have done a wonderful job with the antiques businesses on Elm Street and to just see places such as Bobcat Freight move downtown. Then we have such places as the new shops including barber and beauty shops. I think there is a real momentum building here.”
Add to the existing businesses such as ROC Enterprises, the Senior Citizen Center, the boutiques such as Rae Tae’s, a very nice furniture store, the local news services, title companies and a terrific new shop on Second Street named Downtown Market. And one must never forget Barry’s Market which has been serving and supporting Hope for decades.
What used to be dark, empty and uninviting is now becoming a place a body can park anywhere downtown and simply walk anywhere needed.
And the downtown heartbeat gets stronger.
The Visitors Center across the street at the Hope Depot is seeing more visitors, reports Caldwell and the addition of the Klipsch Museum Visitors Center just a few blocks away has joined the Bill Clinton Birthplace as easy sites to visit just a few blocks west of the restaurant.
Tailgaters has been life changing for Sharon Caldwell by bringing her out of the shell she lived inside as a child.
“In high school, I would sit in the back of the class hoping the teachers would not pick me,” she recalls. “So, when I went into this business, I came out of my shell.”
Caldwell had no choice but to come out of that shell when that key went into the lock of Tailgaters for the first time.
So, will there come a day when Sharon won’t take the drive downtown and unlock the building?
“No, not yet” Caldwell replies. “There are times when I’m tired and do I want to start stepping out? Yes.
“I want to step out a little bit at a time and still be able to connect. I can’t see myself not doing this.”
Like the notable figures that previously occupied the space that is Tailgaters today, the restaurant will take its rightful place in history.
Like the other establishments, it had to be someone who was a risk-taker, someone who wouldn’t give up on a town called Hope.
Someone like Sharon and John Caldwell.