MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Cozy Corner Restaurant is known for its signature food and its rich history. When you walk through the doors, the smell of the good home cooking hits your nose. It's a place that makes you feel like you're right where you need to be.
It's everything from soulful music, to the familial environment and more. There's a reason why the Cozy Corner Restaurant is still here more than 40 years later.
It all started with a power couple by the name of Desiree Robinson and her late husband, Raymond.
Their daughter, Val Bradley, said her dad loved to cook and that's really how the idea came about.
"My mom and dad had owned a restaurant when we lived in Denver and when we moved back here, they both got jobs somewhere else and then dad decided he wanted to go back into it," Bradley said.
The Robinsons then opened Cozy Corner in August of 1977.
"They decided that one of them was going to own the restaurant and one of them was going to go to work. Mom went to work for at that time, South Central Bell, and he came and ran the restaurant," Bradley stated.
The rest is history. When you walk into the restaurant, you can expect to be greeted and served by the four generations working behind the scenes.
Bradley said when her father suddenly died in 2001, there was no question about stepping in full-time. Between her mother and brother, the three of them worked until the children were old enough to join.
"My son has come in and he's running everything now. My daughters come in and help when they're needed," Bradley explained. "My oldest daughter does the banana puddings, but they're support, so it was never a matter of you got to come in and do this work."
In addition to their strong bond, it's the resilience that has kept this mom-and-pop restaurant in business.
Bradley said an electrical fire that happened years ago brought them closer together, which forced them to figure out a plan until they could get back into their original building.
"Smoke damage is really what messed everything up. We had to close and we were closed I think for about a year and a half and we opened across the street until then," Bradley said.
Sean Robinson said he is living out his grandparent’s dreams and will continue to uphold the business.
"We're talking about four generations here and I'm just a part of one, so this is definitely bigger than me and I would like for it to continue to be open and be operating, even after I'm no longer around."
The Cozy Corner is a winner of many awards and most recently, it was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame in 2020.