If you watched the hit sitcom “Cheers,” you’re familiar with the everybody-knows-your-name atmosphere for which the Boston bar was known. This feel-good, hometown environment was also a characteristic at Bud Bales’ restaurants, where every customer was made to feel at home and welcome.
Bales had been in the restaurant business for more than 30 years. His first restaurant was Bud’s Picnic, which he opened in Decatur in 1973. After closing that restaurant, he opened Bud’s Eastside Cafe in 1991. The restaurants were his passion, and he always wanted everything to be just right, said former employee Rita Waddell.
“We used to have to tell him to get out of our way and let us work,” she said with a laugh. “His lunch hours were bedlam, and he was always down there making sure everyone was working really hard and doing everything right.”
Bales’ restaurants drew customers from across the area, and he always did everything he could to make sure his customers enjoyed not only their meal, but also their time spent at the restaurant. It was important to him to know his customers on a personal level, said longtime friend, Steve Morton.
“People would come from all over to eat his Philly cheesesteak sandwiches,” he said. “He met every customer and he went to every table to talk. It was the gathering point for everybody in the area and he knew everybody who came in.”
Buddy Woodson Bales, of Lilburn, died Wednesday from complications of a ruptured lung following a car accident. He was 75. His body was cremated by the Chapel of Caldwell and Cowan Funeral Home in Covington, which is in charge of the arrangements. A memorial service is set to be held at 2 p.m. today at the funeral home.
The restaurant entrepreneur was also an avid sports fan whose knowledge for the games was unmatched. He lettered in baseball, basketball and football in high school before going on to play baseball at the University of Cincinnati, often playing alongside former Major League Baseball player, Pete Rose.
In the early 1960s, he joined the Army and moved to Korea, where he played as the quarterback for the U.S. Army football team before settling down with his first wife, Martha. He may have hung up his jerseys, but he kept his passion alive by teaching and coaching others, said his son, Robert Bales.
“He was a major sports fanatic,” his son said. “He had 30 to 40 years of coaching baseball and teaching sports to us. Or to anyone who would listen.”
Bales’ talent in sports, however, wasn’t limited to baseball, basketball and football. According to those who knew him, his athleticism was unrestrained, and he was good at everything he tried.
“He was extremely passionate about everything he did,” Robert Bales said. “We all got a little bit of our sports talent from him. There wasn’t a sport he wasn’t good at.”
In addition to his son, Bales is survived by one daughter, Allison Bales Niegowski of Barnwell, S.C.; three more sons, Michael Bales of Barnwell, S.C., Seth Bales of Auburn, Ala., and Spencer Bales of Fayetteville; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
About the Author
