For Melissa Strickland and sister Stacey O'Donnell, keeping the doors open at Westshore Restaurant in Garland after their father passed has been a promise they have borne proudly.
But even the most honored traditions sometimes must end so new chapters may be written.
Although the seafood and steak restaurant will soon be taking on a new owner – longtime head waitress Heather Huff -- Melissa and Stacey bid adieu at the end of December to a place that has been such an integral part of their lives since their father, Ralph West, built it next to the Red River 20 years ago.
This interview, a time capsule of sorts, was captured shortly before the family passed the reins to Heather.
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LABOR OF LOVE
"I've put my blood, sweat and tears into this place," said Melissa as she watched over a huge pot of shrimp boiling on the stove -- which smelled delicious and Cajun-spiced.
Just across the kitchen, Stacey mixed flour and special, top-secret ingredients in a vintage mixing bowl she estimates is more than 50 years old.
Stacey said she and her sister made sure to keep the same recipes passed on from her grandmother, Marie West, and her father, so customers wouldn't notice a change in the food they have come to love.
Melissa, the youngest of the sisters, said it was five years ago when her father passed away.
Ralph had long been in the restaurant business and helped keep Westshore a destination for people all over the area looking for a unique place to enjoy seafood and steaks. As customers come into Westshore, about 30 miles east of Texarkana, they are greeted by an entryway of Arkansas Razorback memorabilia with a fancy chandelier hanging over the register.
The contrast of the elegance and the casual collectibles is noticeable but makes sense in a place where each picture on the wall tells a story -- and has a history of its own.
West's wife and the sisters' mother, Becky West, said she was not on board with her husband taking on Westshore and including her in the restaurant business since she had been a hairdresser for 30 years in Lewisville at her shop called The Hair Gallery.
So, she told him she would come and assist him, but she had a couple of requests.
"I said I will only come if I can have my glass cabinet there and my mother's chandelier," Becky, 74, said. "He argued about it, but he put in two double doors so the cabinet could fit in, and I agreed to come help."
Becky, like her daughters, wore many hats at the restaurant, but mainly she was in the front as a greeter to welcome diners and to check them out after they enjoyed their meals, which are known to come with generous portions.
"Dad always said if you leave here hungry, it's your own fault," Stacey said.
Although seafood dominates the menu, Ralph had a famous chicken-fried ribeye that he perfected over the years. Stacey said it is something to behold and must be tried to fully appreciate.
"The gravy is made with buttercream, and I could drink the gravy," she said smiling, keeping her eyes fixed on the mixer churning away, making one of the large batches of breading they would need for their seafood on a recent Friday night.
Everything at the restaurant is homemade, from all the sauces to the fresh-cut onions for the onion rings.
Although Westshore used to be open more days of the week, the daughters cut down to just Friday and Saturday nights because of the labor involved.
Stacey, who is a deputy clerk in Columbia County, works daytime hours five days a week and has a T-shirt business, The Twisted Two. As a result, she is only able to help her sister on weekend nights.
Melissa said she can't have another job because managing the restaurant, despite it only being open on weekends, takes the entire week as she must wait for truck deliveries and restock supplies.
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NEXT CHAPTER
Both ladies and their mother are ready for a change.
Stacey said she wants to play with her grandchildren and Melissa is awaiting two of her own whom she wants to have the time to spoil. Stacey made T-shirts to represent these feelings.
The front of the shirt says, "In my Westshore Era, and the back says, Peace Out December 2023."
"This was his dream, not ours, and we've honored it and now it's time to quit," Melissa said.
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HEARTBREAK
There was a point where the family had hoped Westshore would continue its rich traditions with Melissa's son, Kade Strickland, who loved to cook just as much as his grandfather. However, Kade, 30, passed away from COVID-19 in 2021. Since that time, the family has established Kade's Kids Foundation, which offers outdoor opportunities such as hunting to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity.
Becky's eyes filled with tears as she remembered him and how much she loved him.
"He always came up and cooked, and he was always trying new things and would go out there and give it away," she said.
The loss of Kade is something that is still raw, and he is missed.
"He was everyone's baby," Stacey said softly, still keeping a keen eye on the mixer.
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ONE MEMORABLE NIGHT
All the women agree the last night on the job will be an emotional one, but Melissa said they will definitely have one memorable night on New Year's Eve, and then as the New Year arrives, both they and the restaurant have new beginnings.
"It's going to be a fun, sad weekend, our closing weekend," Becky said. "But they need to go so they can be with their families."
And although the chandelier that has long greeted customers will be retiring with Becky, she plans to let new owner Heather Huff use much of the memorabilia to not change the looks of the place too much. And people will soon be coming back to make more memories as they have in the past.
"We've had beautiful weddings, baby showers, family reunions, Christmas parties, school parties," Strickland said. "We've even had a funeral. Whatever people asked us to do, we did it."