Since she was 14, all Cassandra Henderson knew was her family-owned restaurant, Henderson’s.
“I grew up here,” Henderson told Channel 2 Action News. “My children grew up here, my nieces and nephews, everybody.”
Henderson's family started the establishment in 1948 across from what is now Covington's City Hall, according to its website. The business moved to its present location in 1956.
Like much of the family, Henderson worked at the restaurant and served southern goodness to customers, according to Channel 2. But that will change when Henderson’s closes its doors for a Georgia Department of Transportation road project.
The restaurant sits near the five-way intersection of Ga. 36 and Flat Shoals Road, but GDOT wants to change it into a 4-way stop, making it safer for drivers, Channel 2 reported.
The $2 million investment includes adding traffic lights, realigning Steele and Flat Shoals roads and the widening of Ga. 36 with 12-foot left and right turning lanes that will go directly in front of the restaurant.
The family told the television station they tried to work with Newton County on a more convenient solution, but plans were handed to the state.
“It’s upsetting because we don’t feel like they have tried to work with us as far helping us with parking any more than we have,” Cassandra Henderson said.
The project is expected to be complete a year from now. The family’s other business, Henderson’s Grocery Store, will remain open.
“It’s a long-running family business and that’s what’s making it so upsetting,” Henderson said of the restaurant closing.
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