Norma Watterson holds a plaque given to her by one of her customers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Norma's Truck Stop. The restaurant's homecooked meals have helped it become a regular stop for truck drivers and weary travelers along I-85. Norma Watterson never thought she was making a lifetime decision when a conversation in 1960 resulted in her becoming a restaurant owner.

Watterson, now 82, was sitting in the 85 Truck Stop off Exit 92 on I-85 when the owner, J.A. Mobley, asked if she was interested in buying the restaurant. Although she had limited knowledge about the food business, the longtime Cherokee County resident had boundless energy and a love of home cooking.

“I bought it and went to work that night in 1960. I often joke that I married this truck stop,” Watterson said. “I worked 20 hour days, seven days a week for many years. I thought it wouldn’t run without me here.”

Watterson changed the restaurant’s name to Norma’s Truck Stop in 1980 and opened in a new location three miles up the interstate in Cherokee County at its present home just off Exit 95.

Norma’s marked its 50th anniversary May 1 with little fanfare.

Celebration plans were put on hold indefinitely after Watterson became ill and had to be hospitalized. It’s one of the few times the longtime Cherokee County resident hasn’t been around the truck stop.

Norma’s is open 24 hours a day year-round and stays open on Christmas Day. With its Southern home-cooking, Norma’s is known nationwide by truck drivers traveling I-85. A resident in Nova Scotia recently was spotted wearing a Tshirt from Norma’s Truck Stop.

Customers come for the restaurant’s bologna burgers, pinto beans, the Broad River Special (a double cheeseburger with all the fixings) and homecooked meals like turkey and dressing. They come for Watterson’s desserts like fried apple pies and her red velvet, German chocolate and pineapple cakes.

Another reason they come back is simply to see Watterson, whose motto at the restaurant is “nobody leaves here hungry.”

“There was a truck driver on his first run who came in here many years ago with a dollar in his pocket and just sat in one of the booths with a cup of coffee,” Norma’s manager Barbara Brannon said. “Norma came by his table and asked ‘where’s your food?’ He said, ‘I don’t have any money.’ Norma fixed him a plate. The truck driver left and was going down the road when he found $20 tucked in his shirt pocket. When he got paid that week, the truck driver said he couldn’t wait to get back here and pay Norma back.”

Several of Norma’s employees have worked at the truck stop almost as long as Watterson.

Catherine Johnson has worked at Norma’s for 42 years while Rose Carpenter has been a kitchen cook for 40 years. Head cashier Tammy Gamble and waitress Alvenia Murphy have spent 20 years at the restaurant.

“Norma is a wonderful person. Once you’re here, you become a part of the family,” Murphy said. “We have customers who have been coming here for years to see Norma and eat a home-cooked meal.”

Watterson actually did attempt to retire from Norma’s Truck Stop in 2005. She got a beach house and planned a long summer vacation to start her retirement.

Her retirement lasted three weeks.

“I wasn’t happy. I left the beach house and came back here,” said Watterson, who still works three days a week. “I never imagined I would still have this restaurant after 50 years. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I love it here.”