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CHINA GROVE — It’s a work in progress that’s nearing its 50th birthday.
For the thousands of Stag and Doe patrons, it’s more than a restaurant. It’s a lifestyle, a big chunk of nostalgia, complete with good food and drink.
“It’s not Chuck E Cheese,” says Gary Morton, who operates the restaurant with his brother, Dana.
A bar in the early ’50s, the Stag and Doe has grown and changed with the times.
Menus now feature pasta and fresh grilled fish as well as a wine list that includes cabernet sauvignon. But beer still flows almost as freely as the good times.
The atmosphere can’t be matched. It has evolved over decades.
Kids who once got free bubble gum at the cash register now bring their own children — and they get free bubble gum.
“Our atmosphere is the people who come here, not decorations bought at a flea market,” said Morton.
From some of the tunes on the jukebox to the red and white checked tablecloths, the place still has a ’50s flavor.
Its several dining rooms and the bar area stay packed. On the wall are autographed photographs of local athletes who gained fame and kept stopping by.
The late Dan Morton started the Stag and Doe, on U.S. 29, in 1953. In the pre-interstate days, U.S. 29 was the main road for travelers going from Florida to New York and points beyond.
Fresh from a seven-year stint in the Merchant Marine, Dan Morton returned home and converted a closed service station to a bar. He named it for his favorite bar, the Stag and Doe in England. (The bar was originally called the Stag n’ Doe, and the sign still bears the original name.)
Folks jammed in to drink beer, eat pickled eggs and Penrose sausages and watch the World Series on one of the first color televisions in the area. A sign out front invited folks to “Watch the World Series in Color.”
“It was the original sports bar,” said Gary Morton.
On Sunday nights, when the bar was closed, the whole Morton clan showed up to watch “Bonanza.”
Gary and Dana, sons of Dan and Olene Morton, grew up in the Stag and Doe. By the age of 5, they and brother Mark were wrapping baking potatoes in aluminum foil.
Dan was the personality, greeting everyone, handing out gum and making folks feel like they were part of the family. Olene handled the business side.
The small bar got a huge boost from a fast-talking Yankee who stopped in one day and offered some free advice. He told Dan Morton that his business would really take off if he served pizza.
“What the hell is pizza?” was Dan Morton’s now legendary reply.
The man went back to New Jersey and returned with the ingredients for pizza, along with a pizza oven.
“The business really took off. In 1958, you could buy pizza at a place in Greensboro, a place in Charlotte and at the Stag and Doe,” said Gary Morton. “We had it all through the 1960s.”
Cramped for space, the restaurant added curb service.
“People could order a pizza, sit out in their car and eat it,” said Morton.
That was a big deal at the time, and the memories haven’t faded.
“They’re still coming back,” said Morton. “Some have been coming here for 47 years.”
Over time, the building has undergone several expansions and renovations.
“Dad expanded three or four times,” Morton said. “I’ve added on three or four times. It’s a work in progress.”
Each year, the restaurant closes for a week around the July 4th holiday. That’s when Gary Morton takes over with a construction crew.
The latest project involved restoration of the original section, now painted the dusty green color of the old Texaco station.
But with all the renovations, the Mortons refuse to change some things.
Dan Morton hung a small bell on the top of the front door decades ago. It has long since worn a hole through the door. It is part of the atmosphere.
The restaurant seats 220 now. It’s always jammed on Friday and Saturday nights, usually with a long line. Many opt to call in orders.
“We know their voices, we don’t have to ask who they are,” said Morton.
A few years ago, when the restaurant boom hit the area, the Mortons briefly worried how their small four-day-a-week operation would survive. Today they laugh off the prospects of more restaurants, whatever the themes or decors.
“When new restaurants come, we get busier,” said Morton. “Our food is better, our prices are lower and you don’t get a cold shoulder.”
Despite the changes in the building and the menu, Morton feels the restaurant’s success comes from the things that haven’t changed — the loyal customers and employees.
Although they have employed an estimated thousand people over the decades, some of the original staffers are still around. Morton cited two cooks who have a combined 70 years at the Stag and Doe.
And Olene Morton continues to take an active role. She’s always in the restaurant on Fridays.
Upcoming changes include a Stag and Doe market on U.S. 29. It will feature the same Angus beef used in the restaurant, including choice cuts of steak. The Mortons buy and cut all beef used in the restaurant. The market will also offer family-size pans of lasagna and other full dinners, complete with salads.
Plans are also in the works to market the Stag and Doe salad dressing at area stores.
And the restaurant may open more days and longer hours if it can work a deal with either Landis or China Grove to provide water and sewer.
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