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Madalyn's welcomes everyone
Madalyn Crocker, her husband, Chris, and two little sons found out it was a long way from South Africa to Schell City. They followed her brother here in 1993, wanting a change in their lifestyle. They arrived with eight suitcases and no job. For the first year, they helped her brother milk cows and Madalyn made several different flavors of ice cream to sell.
When the cafe south of Schell City, known as Hilltop, came up for sale, they decided to give it a try. The local people had noted their ability to work hard, and they were able to get a loan. Madalyn was quick to note that it was a "God thing. We started with nothing and God has blessed. We are so grateful and want to give Him all the credit."
They have been in the business for 15 years now. After 12 years of cooking in a tiny room, they were able to enlarge and modernize the building. Madalyn makes it a home away from home for all who enter and decorates for each season.
One of the biggest problems she had to overcome was the language. Even though they are bi-lingual, things are named differently here than in Africa. "For instance, we call catsup tomato sauce. Biscuits were cookies to us. When someone came in and ordered biscuits and gravy, it almost gagged me to think of gravy on cookies. But we learned. It helped when the boys started school and we helped them with their homework."
Now and again, they still have language problems, some of which are quite comical. A person was working on their stove or something and said he needed a wrench. She thought he meant a croissant roll and told him they only had sweet rolls. He was quick to tell her that wasn't what he meant. In Africa, a wrench is called a spanner; French fries were chips. She also had to learn to cook American. However, she has mixed some of her native recipes and adapted them until one of her best sellers is the Muncher. It is deep-fried bread with salad in it. She almost quit trying to make Mexican food because it was so confusing, but she learns every day.
"People come from everywhere because they feel at home. That is what we want," Madalyn noted. "People have made us a part of their family because ours are so far away. This makes us feel good and needed. I was never as proud as when they selected me as 'Citizen of the Year' last year. I felt like we were really included in the community."
Most of their customers are repeat customers and they don't even bother to order but say "Madalyn knows what we want."
Madalyn's Kitchen is open seven days a week. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, she is open from 4:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday is from 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday is 4:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, with the lunch buffet, she is open from 4:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. She has a daily special, but you can order off the menu. When the duck and goose season opens at Schell-Osage Wildlife, she will open at 3 a.m. so that the hunters will have a place to go after they draw for their places to hunt, and before it is time for the hunt to begin. She prepares a breakfast buffet and has received letters of appreciation from lots of hunters.
Why do the people keep coming back? Helen Ellerman and her mother, Jewel Ellerman "eat there once a week because the food is good." B. D. Dickbreder meets his daughter Dorothy Palmer and her husband, Paul, there for most Sunday dinners. B. D. said "there is something different each week," but his daughter quipped that "my mother taught me right, I don't cook on Sundays." Rachel Lee (Applegate) Owen cited the coffee as being a great incentive, "Madalyn makes the best coffee in the world. When I'm in the hospital, I can't wait to get out so I can get some of her coffee." Sharon Goodman said, "Madalyn has the most serving heart of anyone I know. She will do almost anything for anyone." Connie Locke said what kept her coming at least a couple of times a week, was, "Friendly service and treated like family."
"I'm not a professional cook," Madalyn said. "If someone doesn't like something, they should tell me --that way we learn together and that is the only way we will know."
If the overflowing crowd most Sundays and a steady stream of customers at all times of the day is any evidence, Madelyn is doing most things right.