Alabama’s famous Bates House of Turkey opens second restaurant

For decades, Bates House of Turkey in Greenville has been a must-stop for hungry travelers headed north or south along I-65 in Alabama. Now, fans of the restaurant’s roasted turkey sandwiches and turkey-and-dressing dinners have another option to satisfy their Bates’ turkey cravings.

The most famous turkey house in Alabama has opened a second location just up the interstate in Montgomery – in the Westminster Shopping Center at the intersection of Carter Hill Road and Zelda Road.

“I think it’s going to be well received,” Bates House of Turkey owner Becky Bates Sloane told AL.com this morning. “The people in Montgomery have been just super-nice.”

For years, Bates House of Turkey has operated a pop-up shop in Montgomery during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and customers in Alabama’s capital have been clamoring for them to open a permanent location, Sloane added.

“We get customers coming through Greenville all the time, (asking) ‘When are you coming back to Montgomery?’” Sloane said.

For now, the restaurant is open with a limited menu, she added, and a grand opening is tentatively planned for next Monday, May 8.

“We are open now, but it’s just like a trial run to get all the kinks worked out,” Sloane said

Sloane’s daughter, Michelle Sloane, is the operating manager of the Montgomery location, and she is running it with the help of her daughter, Helen Grace Sloane.

Keeping the business in the family is essential, Becky Sloane said.

Her grandparents — Willie Claude Bates and his wife, Helen — started their turkey farm in Fort Deposit in 1923 with nine turkey eggs they received as a wedding present. It sustained them through the Great Depression.

In 1946, after serving in World War II and briefly attending Auburn University, their son, W.C. “Bill” Bates Jr., dropped out of college and came home to help run the turkey farm.

Then, in 1970, to coincide with the completion of Interstate 65 from Mobile to Montgomery, the family opened Bates House of Turkey just off one of the Greenville exist. Fifty-three years later, it remains a popular destination for I-65 travelers, as well as a source of pride for folks in Greenville.

All of the turkey dishes served at the restaurant are made from turkeys raised on the family farm that Becky Sloane’s grandparents started 100 years ago.

“I have grandchildren now that are in their 20s, and they’re all very interested in the business,” she said. “It’s like my dad (said), ‘OK, I’ve got this next generation, where am I gonna put ‘em? What have I got for ‘em to do?’

“My daughter (Michelle) and I got to thinking about it, and if we do this (Montgomery restaurant), it helps the farm and it helps the restaurant in Greenville.

“And it can make everybody a pretty good living and still give the presence of a family member looking over your business and making sure things are done the way you want them done.”

The Montgomery location of Bates House of Turkey is at 2938 Carter Hill Road. Current hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, go here.

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