The Gainsville Sun
July 22, 1977
This is the year that Gill's Bar-B-Que celebrates their 25th anniversary
1952-1977.
A barbecue place that has been in the same spot since 1951 has a tradition established. Those of us who think of 1952 as our salad days will not like to hear this, but no matter. It was at Gill's that I was first introduced to smoked turkey about 1965 or 1966. We had relatives living in Daytona Beach and we would often stop and either eat at Gill's or have them pack up some smoked turkey, corned beef, and other things to take on down to Daytona.
My wife's father, who was a chef (the garde manger - cold meats, salad and hors d'oeuvres) at the old Waldorf Astoria in New York, the Roney Plaza in Miami and various other places, and who taught me a great deal about cooking, had not had smoked turkey either. So we would always take him some of that for it is one of Gill's specialties and very good.
The building of those days burnt down in 1975. The new place is much more open high ceilings and a very spacious feeling. The front porch has comfortable rocking chairs to sit in if one wishes to watch the cars go by on Route 1 the highway that goes from the Canadian border to Key West. In spite of being superseded by I-95, Route 1 is still busy.
They also retained one of the major decorative aspects of the old building; a truly fantastic collection of license plates and newspaper front pages of historic events. Many of the newspapers, pages burnt, but they have been able to replace most of them with copies, but with the real thing. They have the famous Chicago tribune which announced that Dewey had won when he ran against Truman in 1948. It is the newspaper that Truman held up for the reporters and photographers with the famous grin almost splitting his face open!
Most of the license plates lost their paint in the fire, but the owners, Mac and Hazel Gilliam, wrote to the various states and asked for the colors for each year represented and had them carefully repainted. Mr. Gilliam died a while ago, but Mrs. Gilliam carries on the tradition I haven't counted, but I suspect that all 50 states are represented and that many states have plates going back a good many years. Among other newspaper, pages are Kennedy assassination, McArthur's death, Johnson's dramatic announcement that he would not seek the presidency again and many many others. It is a history lesson in its most urgent form. Newspapers represented come from all over the country, the Boston Globe, Miami Harold, New York Journal and so on it makes anyone familiar with the newspaper world sad to see how many of them are long since gone.
The services is fine, considerate, and the waitresses are really interested and whether you are eating there or taking your order out and welcome you to sit at a table while waiting if you are eating out.
The smoked turkey is a specialty as mentioned earlier and a note at the bottom of the menu says "we will be glad to smoke your turkey."
Other specialties are corn beef $5 a pound to take out or $1.85 for a sandwich on white or rye with french fried potatoes.
All their sandwiches are packed full of meat and make a meal in themselves. The barbecue is served either on a plate or as a sandwich with a combination plate of pork and beef at $3.85 and the same combination in the sandwich for $1.50 all the prices are similarly low and the portions are quite big.
They have Schlitz and Budweiser on tap and a mug of beer is $.75 a pitcher is $2.50. Soft drinks, sanka coffee, sweet, chocolate, or buttermilk, and coffee or tea, with these drinks costing $.30 mostly
A jumbo plate of barbecued ribs is $4.50 and well worth it. Their barbecue sauce is tangy, but not too hot (not hot enough for my taste but suited to the general preference.)
The kiddie korner for diners 12 and Hunter has barbecue plates with french fries, baked beans, and milk or orange drink for $1.50. They also list the sandwich without which the children of America would not survive: peanut butter and jelly, again with french fries and milk or orange drink for $.75
The fire must have been a traumatic experience, but the rebuilt place is much handsomer both inside and out then the old building The work that must have gone into rebuilding the collection of newspaper, front pages and repainting. The license plate sounds awesome, but the end result justifies it. The newspaper headline that threw me into a fit of nostalgia. Was the one about Lindbergh crossing the Atlantic. When I was 14 and in the Boy Scouts hearing Gainesville our scoutmaster, managed to get a big truck open in the back to take his troop to the Jacksonville to see Lindbergh on his tour of the United States after his Atlantic Crossing on the way we went through one of those torrential rains that comes on very suddenly and it did just that we were drenched, shivering, and wondered if the scoutmaster would turn around and come back to Gainesville and afraid he might. He went on, and some hotel in Jacksonville allow us to go into the basement where the furnace was - or the hot water heater - and dry off. We stripped, hung our clothes on anything convenient, dried them, dressed and still got out to the airport in time to see the great hero.
Gill's invokes a nostalgia in almost everyone over 30 and I hope that the young people will catch some of the greatness of this country by looking at those newspaper headlines and new license plates.
The foods good too!
Meanwhile at home, life goes on.
Hazel Gilliam makes sure barbecue cook James Truitt knows what to do.