A once-bustling neighborhood restaurant that drew customers from across Webster Parish is being remembered for its food, hospitality, and lasting impact on the community.
Moody’s Cafe, located at 600 Martin Luther King Drive, was a longtime fixture in Minden and, according to family members, the first African American cafe in the city.
Siblings Sedric Moody and Virginia Timmons recently shared memories of their sister, Ernestine Moody, who owned and operated the cafe for decades after taking it over from their grandparents, Alma and Mattie Moody, in 1981.
The building that housed Moody’s Cafe dates back to 1951, when Alma Moody and his brothers constructed it as a boarding house for Black American workers. The facility provided lodging for Civil Rights workers as well as ammunition plant and railroad workers who came to the area during that time. Though the boarding house eventually closed, the cafe continued to operate.
Ernestine Moody’s path to ownership began years earlier. According to Sedric Moody, she worked in a restaurant in Fort Worth during the 1950s before returning to Minden, where she later worked as a cook at a local hotel in the late 1960s.
“She was using her own recipes, and everybody loved her food,” Sedric Moody said.
He said his sister approached her employer about being compensated for her recipes but was told she was already being paid hourly to cook. Frustrated, she turned to her grandmother for advice.
Her grandmother encouraged her to continue working, save money, and eventually open her own restaurant.
Moody followed that advice, taking on extra jobs while preparing to launch her business. With help from family, she readied the building, purchased equipment, and completed inspections before opening Moody’s Cafe.
“When her boss heard about it, he said, ‘She ain’t going to make it,’” Sedric Moody said.
Instead, the restaurant quickly gained popularity. Many of her former customers followed her from the hotel, and word of mouth helped establish a steady clientele.
Sedric Moody said the combination of quality food and customer service set the cafe apart.
“A hid-away restaurant that nobody knows about serves some of the best food you want to eat, and everybody always had a nice attitude,” he said.
Customer service was important to Ernestine. “That’s one thing she’d preach, ‘You be nice to the customers because that’s who supports me and pays my bills.’ She dedicated herself to taking care of her customers.”
Over the years, Moody’s Cafe drew a diverse crowd, including lawyers, judges, doctors, business leaders, and local workers. Customers also traveled from surrounding areas such as Shreveport and Benton.
Sedric Moody recalled one day walking into the restaurant to find it filled with the senior class from Glenbrook School. “They were having a lot of fun,” he said.
Seating inside was limited, so the majority of business was for takeaway dishes. Meals were served on sectional plates to keep foods separate.
Menu favorites included country fried steak, creamed potatoes, hot-water bread, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese. During the Thanksgiving season, the cafe also sold dressing by the gallon.
Sedric Moody said his sister often went beyond standard service, preparing special meals for customers with health conditions and refusing to serve sweets to those she knew had diabetes.
He also recalled an instance when his sister was called for jury duty but was dismissed by Judge Harmon Drew, a regular customer.
“He said she had to be able to go make his lunch,” Sedric Moody said with a laugh.
Family members were also a part of the cafe’s operations, with her daughter, Ann, as well as many nieces, nephews, and grandchildren working there over the years.
“If you can survive working at Moody’s under her, you can survive working anywhere,” Sedric Moody said.
Moody’s Cafe closed in March 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ernestine Moody died in 2023 at age 84.
“If that pandemic hadn’t hit, I think she’d still be around here,” Sedric Moody said. “That was her life — getting up every morning and going in there to prepare food for people.”
He said he believes his sister would be most proud of how much people appreciated her work and the meals she provided.
Today, the building remains in the Moody family. While there are no current plans for its future use, family members are continuing maintenance and renovations to preserve the structure.
Sedric Moody said he hopes the community will continue to remember the experience the cafe provided.
“It was just pleasant to go to Moody’s, sit down, and have some good food,” he said.