You may have seen them together in the far corner of McAlister's Deli for years—"Angel's Ladies" sharing laughter and heartfelt greetings as they welcome each other to their weekly meeting spot on Wednesday mornings.
For decades, this loyal and loving band of ladies has been gathering together to offer friendship and support. In fact, their gatherings have become such a part of their routine that no one is sure exactly how it all began.
Their murmurs burst into laughter as each lady shares a different version of how they got started, who brought who, and where they first met: "No one really knows for sure, we all just appeared here eventually," member Sandy Gallemore ultimately concluded, smiling.
"The original four girls started meeting for lunch about 20 years ago, and the group expanded from there," explained Fay Williams, whom the ladies have claimed as their leader.
Louise Brown, Toni Bloser, Regina Gross and Anita Wiggins were the "originals" of the group. They recall beginning meeting for lunch at the Soda Shop inside Medical Center Pharmacy and enjoying the pharmacy's legendary pimento cheese sandwiches.
The Soda Shop closed in 2016 and Medical Center Pharmacy closed in 2021, and it still pains locals to remember the loss of such a cherished local establishment, from the lunch counter to the customer service, it was a beloved hallmark of the Statesboro community. They then moved to McAlister's for their weekly gatherings.
They recalled a similar, though more "aristocratic," group from the 1970s who met for lunch. "It was the first group that really met like this," explained one of the ladies. That group included former Statesboro Mayor Hal Averitt's mother Jessie Averitt and they would meet every Thursday at R.C. Webb's fondly remembered Nic Nac Grill. The Nic Nac was located on East Main Street in downtown Statesboro from 1946 through 1992. More than a place to eat, it was a place to gather, make memories, have fun, and connect.
Williams says she was chosen to be this group's leader because she is the youngest member of the group. They tease her and she gives it right back the way best friends from over the decades do. Last year, when she had cancer and needed regular treatment, it was the ladies of the group who took turns driving her to chemotherapy appointments in Pembroke. "They get you through things," Williams shared explaining how important these friendships are.
"I joined in 2017, the year my husband died. Toni asked me to come and join other ladies for lunch every Wednesday at McAlister's and I accepted. It was the best decision for me!" Williams shared. The story was the same for Tricia Duggan when her husband passed away in 2019 and Toni invited her to join. "This group helped us get through our journey of grief," said Williams.
Five members of the group, including Williams, have been widowed, so their lunch meetings double as a time to offer and receive support, check in, and comfort each other during life's most difficult times. "It's been a great support group. Even when someone is having a down day, they can come to lunch and feel better afterwards," says Sheri Sterling.
"[This group] helped me so much when my husband died and I started coming here. It was just so good to be with a group of people, and a lot of people don't have what we have," echoed several others.
The husbands of the other women in the group share a similar ritual and camaraderie: they meet at the same time as these ladies, at a nearby restaurant. On Thursdays, the husbands and the wives all get together at one restaurant, but the husbands sit and one table and wives sit at another.
Surprisingly, many of the women in this group are not originally from the Statesboro, Georgia or even the Bulloch County area, nor have all of them known each other for decades, though it seems that way. It is a very welcoming group, and each person's journey to Statesboro adds a layer of interest.
During their working years, their careers included teaching (traditional K-12 as well as post-secondary education), nursing, working as a librarian, a school nurse, a receptionist, and in banking/trust.
Gallemore, a Professor Emerita of Health and Kinesiology at Georgia Southern, is originally from Washington state, Regina Gross is originally from Ohio, and other members landed in Statesboro at varying points in their lives:
"Let me tell you something about Statesboro," Duggan laughs, "You're not really from here unless your grandparents were here at the turn of the last century. Everyone else is from somewhere else." And as anyone who has moved to Statesboro in the last 20 years can tell you, it's true. While the community is abundantly welcoming, very few are truly "from" Statesboro.
When they get together, Sterling says that "Every story starts with 'I used to...' or 'When I was...'" and the group enjoys hearing and sharing one another's stories from earlier stages of life. "And eventually we hear them again," they laugh and add, "But we listen again anyway, because it will be our turn next."
Four years ago this September, Angel Lastinger became the Front Manager for McAlister's Deli, and she took an immediate liking to the group. Williams even reminded her of her own mother. The feeling was mutual and the ladies "adopted" Angel as much as she adopted them. She calls them "Angel's Ladies" and her staff know when they're coming.
Before they arrive, she often leaves flowers and cards on their table (or tables - sometimes so many ladies attend that they need more than one table), and they bring her cakes and gifts during the holidays. But more than that, they share the easy banter and laughter that make it feel like you've stepped back in time, to a place "Where everybody knows your name," as the Cheers theme goes.
Restaurants that become a second home to friends like the groups that met at Medical Center Pharmacy and Nic Nac—and the groups of friends who bring them to life—may have become harder to find, but they're still here. You can find them at McAlister's every Wednesday. At least, that's what Lastinger says as she talks about the fun of seeing her Wednesday morning ladies get together each week.
"This is a place where good food and good friends meet," and she looks forward to serving them and sharing a laugh over witty banter and spilling the local "tea" as a highlight of her workweek.
"It is something really special," the ladies and Lastinger all agree.
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Grice Connect would like to acknowledge the passing of a beloved member of this ladies group, Louise Brown, shortly after this story was written. We know her memory will live on through the friendships and memories shared each week in the Wednesday lunches to come. Our sincerest condolences everyone who knew her.
