Ben & MARY'S STEAK HOUSE

Ben & MARY'S STEAK HOUSE

By John T. Toler

In December 2018, the Foothills Housing Corporation bought the 27-acre Fletcherville community located off U. S. 17 north of Warrenton from Keith N. Fletcher Jr. The property includes about 40 rentable units that will be made available for workforce housing, and the building that once housed Ben & Mary’s Steak House, operated by the Golightly family from 1954 to 1996.

There was a restaurant of sorts at the location since the late 1920s, when it was a roadhouse run by Harold and Peggy Crawford and known as Crawford’s Lunch. They owned the business, but Warrenton businessman Keith N. Fletcher Sr. (1913-1976) owned the property.

The building that later became Ben & Mary’s Steak House was originally Crawford’s Lunch, a roadhouse on U.S. 17 north of Warrenton.

As a charter member and president of the Falcon Booster Club, in February 1963 Ben Golightly (left) presented a lifetime membership to Walter Robinson, the first purchaser of a $10 membership to the organization.

Benjamin Franklin Golightly (1914-1982) and the former Mary Helen Dodson (1925-1996) were married in 1944, and initially lived on Ben’s parents’ farm at Boyce. In addition to farming, Ben later worked as an insurance salesman and as a carpenter.

The Golightly family got into in the restaurant operation in 1949, when Mary Golightly and her sister Jean Deal worked there as waitresses, and Ben cooked. The Golightlys lived in the apartment in the restaurant, and when the Crawfords were on vacation or out of town, they ran the business.

The Golightly family in 1957, when they lived in an apartment in the restaurant. Back row, Donnie and Phyllis; front row, Mary, Terry and Ben. Courtesy of Terry Golightly.

In 1952, the Crawfords sold the restaurant to Phil and Tudy Brubaker of Millwood, and in January 1954, Ben bought the restaurant, still called Crawford’s Lunch. Ben’s daughter Phyllis worked there, and later Ben and Mary’s sons, Donnie (born in 1945) and Terry (1952), worked there as well.

Terry Golightly remembers living and working at the restaurant. In addition to sweeping the floors and the parking lot, the boys helped prepare side dishes. “We peeled potatoes by hand, and cut them into French fries,” he recalled. “We usually made five to ten gallons of fries a day.”

The menu was varied, and included locally-cut meat (a 20-oz. filet mignon was $2.25 and a large T-bone, $3.25). The beef was bought at Wilson Meats in Catlett, and served with vegetables grown in a garden behind the restaurant.

Originally, the restaurant was open 15 hours a day, seven days a week. That grind became too much, and the Golightlys decided to close on Mondays, and from December 22 to January 2 for vacation each year. Ben had realized that, “If we couldn’t make it in six days, we wouldn’t make it in seven.”

The name of the business was changed to Ben & Mary’s Steak House, with a sign bearing the new name going up in 1956. Bigger changes came in 1958, when the old building was bricked-over and enlarged. Along the way, the slogan “Home of the Fabulous Filet Mignon” was established.

While the name was changed, the tradition of good quality food and friendly service would remain throughout the years of Golightly ownership. It became a routine side-trip for travelers heading north or south through Warrenton.

Terry recalled that during a big snow storm in 1961, his parents took in travelers stranded on Route 17, providing food and a warm place to stay until the road was re-opened. They accepted no payment.

Over the years, Ben & Mary’s hosted countless birthday parties, dinners and receptions, as well as providing a meeting place for Warrenton service clubs, including the Lions, Soroptimists and the Rotary Club, Terry said quick preparation of the food was critical – especially when the line to get inside stretched out to the parking lot. Mary often served a cheese, pickle and vegetable tray to those waiting for a table. When a fussy baby was disrupting his parents’ meal, Mary would offer to carry the child “on her hip” while she continued serving.

Bob Lee of Warrenton was told by his late fatherin-law, State Trooper Rex Hoskins, that Ben & Mary’s offered lunch to law enforcement personnel at half price, a benefit many enjoyed.

“The joke was that if anyone wanted to commit a crime around Warrenton, noon was the best time to do it,” Lee recalled.

Terry noted that having a patrol car outside and law enforcement officers on the scene likely kept problem customers to a minimum. For years, Ben hosted a Game Feast in January for law enforcement personnel and game wardens, with venison, turkey and other wild specialties prepared and served.

Legendary equestrian photographer Marshall Hawkins was a regular, and his large-format photos of horse races and hunt meets adorned the walls of the dining room for years.

Renowned artist and illustrator Wesley Dennis, who lived nearby, was a close friend of Ben’s, and regularly took his meals at the restaurant, running a tab he paid at the end of the month.

“Mr. Dennis would come in on Fridays in a jacket and tie, tennis shorts and sneakers. He sat by the front window, so he could see his Dalmatian in his Jeep parked outside,” Terry recalled. “He would order a filet mignon and eat half of it, and take the rest to his dog.”

When Dennis, perhaps best known for his work on the Misty of Chincoteague books, was painting and did not want to leave his studio for lunch, he would call Ben and ask him to bring him a sandwich. Ben was happy to oblige, often bringing a meal and couple of beers to enjoy with his friend.

“That was Warrenton’s first carry-out service,” Terry said.

Both Donnie and Terry were quarterbacks on the Fauquier High School football team, and Donnie noted that he was the first player to score at the first FHS football game in 1963. Ben and Mary were charter members of the Falcon Boosters Club, and brought hotdogs and hamburgers for the Friday night games, after a long day at the restaurant.

Michael P. “Mike” Flynn (1950-2018) starred on the FHS basketball team, and earned a full scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University. After graduation, he served as a senior probation officer. Mike sang and played the piano organ at the restaurant on Thursday through Saturday evenings for 27 years.

“My mother thought our guests would like music with their dinner, and Mike was set up in the dining room,” recalled Terry. “His favorite song was ‘Mack the Knife,’ and he would take requests and sell tapes of his music.”

Mike enjoyed performing, and his complimentary steak dinner.

The Golightlys lived in the apartment at Ben & Mary’s until about 1971, when Fauquier County adopted liquor-by-the-drink. They moved to the house next door while the apartment was converted to a barroom and other changes made inside the restaurant.

With the children grown, it was time to move on, and the Golightlys built a new home off Carter’s Run Road near Marshall. Mary wanted to spend more time at home, and went into semi-retirement while Ben continued to run the restaurant, often working late into the night.

Ben died in June, 1982 at age 68, and Mary returned to run the business, with the help of step-daughter Phyllis and “…the wonderful, hard-working ladies” who came to work there. Mary resumed her close relationship with her customers. Knowing what they liked, she would often call to alert them when their favorite specials were going to be served.

By then in her late 60s, Mary needed to slow down, and in 1993, she formed a partnership with restaurateur John Lancaster. In 1994, her health began to fail, and she sold the business to Lancaster shortly before her death in December, 1996.

Mary’s absence was keenly felt by her clientele. “My friend Rick Collette told me that what he really missed was my mother’s hugs when he came in,” Terry recalled. “She was a humble, loving person who touched many lives. Our community meant everything to her.”

The last restaurant to occupy the building was Twisted Sisters Seafood, which operated with mixed reviews from 2011-2013. Subsequent uses included space for Keith N. Fletcher Jr’s. rental management office until the property was sold to the Foothills Housing Corporation.

The old restaurant is in the process of being converted into four apartments on the main floor, and storage compartments in the basement. In recognition of its restaurant heritage, the exterior frontage will be preserved.

While the work was starting this summer, Terry Golightly stopped by and met the contractor. Terry pointed out what was once there — the bar area that replaced the bedroom he shared with his brother, the dining room where Mike Flynn played and sang, and the kitchen where French fries were cut and meals prepared.

It was a good day for remembrance.