Mid-Southerners remember and mourn for beloved restaurant owner

MEMPHIS, TN (WMC) - Mid-Southerners are mourning the death of a Memphis restaurant icon.

Bob Henry, owner of Barksdale Restaurant in the 200 block of Cooper Street, died Sunday after a brief illness.

Henry was 57 years old and his restaurant is a Midtown staple.

Bob's Barksdale Restaurant has a reputation like the old NBC T.V. show Cheers: Customers say it's the place where everybody knows your name.

Monday, the eggs at Barksdale's were sunny side up, but the mood among customers was anything but. Many are saddened by the sudden death of the restaurant's owner.

"He would always make me laugh," Joni Miller said. "I'm going to miss him."

For more than 13 years Henry ran the restaurant named after Barksdale Street.

"He loved everybody and didn't judge anybody," said Debbie Miller, who worked at the restaurant.

"He was always so warm, and he treated everybody the same," customer Kyle Dearen said. "He was just a great friend."

You can see many of Bob's friends on the walls of the restaurant. It includes everyone from actress Cybill Shepherd, to Grizzlies stars, to The King Jerry Lawler.

Friends say Elvis became Henry's idol. He often dressed up like the music icon and participated in tributes.

"He loved Elvis," friend Carol Austein said. "Yeah, he loved Elvis, and he dressed up quite well as Elvis. He would do that on Halloween and special occasions, and go downtown for the Elvis ceremonies and stuff."

Henry was also a big fan of University of Tennessee.

But the things friends and co-workers say they will miss most about Bob Henry are his wit and caring attitude.

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