Agnes Lambert
Lambert's Cafe
What is Lambert's Cafe?
Lambert's Cafe is a large cafe located in Sikeston Missouri, Ozark Missouri, and Foley Alabama only. Lambert's is famous for their giant throwed rolls, live music, shop, and great employees! The business started with two people named Agnes and Earl.
"We Hope You Come Hungry, Leave Full, & Hopefully Have a Laugh or Two!"
Starting the Cafe
- On March 13, 1942, Earl and Agnes Lambert only had 14 cents to their name, so they borrowed $1,500 from a woman named Tish Jones.
- The small cafe opened on South Main Street in Sikeston Missouri.
- Because of World War II, the cafe went without meat for some days.
- Earl and Agnes worked 12-hour shifts just to keep the cafe open 24 hours a day.
- The cafe had 5 employees and a capacity of 41 people.
Running the Business
- On November 18, 1933, Agnes and Earl had a son named Norman.
- Earl Lambert passed away in 1976, leaving Agnes to run the business on her own.
- Agnes sold the cafe for one week until Norman bought it back.
- Norman and his wife Patti helped Agnes run the business.
- Everybody loved Norman, he would tell jokes and do magic tricks for customers.
- Norman made a policy that said "if you bring your own chair...you eat free!" which was mainly focused on disabled people in wheelchairs.
Upgrading to the Present Day
- The cafe only held 41 people but there would be up to 150 people in line waiting for a seat.
- On April 20, 1981, the owners decided that the cafe needed more seating space, so the cafe moved to East Malone Street in Sikeston, MO.
- In 1988, the business moved again, which is at the place it currently is now in Sikeston, MO.
- In March of 1994, Lambert's Cafe opened in Ozark, MO.
- In June of 1996, Lambert's Cafe opened in Foley, AL. (Norman had passed away before this happened)
- Agnes Lambert passed away in 2002.
Lambert's Cafe in Sikeston, MO
Lambert's Cafe in Ozark, MO
Lambert's Cafe in Foley, AL
Why they began throwing rolls
On one busy day, Norman was passing out rolls and a certain customer was getting impatient. The customer told Norman to "throw the #@$#@ thing" so Norman did. Since then, the legend continued and throwing rolls became very popular and original.
Entrepreneurial Traits and Skills of Agnes Lambert
Entrepreneurial Traits:
- Persistent: Although Agnes gave up on the business for a little bit, when Norman bought it back she went right back on track. She also handled the "no meat" situation during World War II.
- Restless: Agnes worked long hours to make sure her business would succeed.
- Goal-Oriented: Agnes set goals and pursued them.
- Responsible: Agnes borrowed $1,500 and paid every penny back to Tish Jones.
- Risk-Taking: Agnes took a risk just by opening a new business.
- Communication Skills
- Problem-Solving Skills
- Decision-Making Skills
- Organizing and Planning Skills
- Social Skills
Famous Customers!
Elvis Presley
Miranda Lambert
Jay Leno
Blake Shelton
Morgan Freeman
The cast of CBS Morning Show
Clint Eastwood
Brad Paisley
Fun Facts!
- 15,900 gallons of milk are used each year. It takes around 17 cows to supply the daily milk Lambert's needs to cook and bake!
- Last year the cooks at Lambert's had to crack and cook 368,940 eggs!
- Lambert's cooked 253,980 lbs of chicken last year!
- Lambert's bakes around 520 dozen rolls per day, for a whopping total of 2,246,400 individual rolls!