As a student at Caroline’s Union High School in the 1960s, Gloria Jean Johnson would get off the school bus at her part-time job in Port Royal.
More than six decades later, Johnson, 81, remains a loyal employee of the last remaining Horne’s restaurant in the nation.
The former popular Southern restaurant and gift shop shut down more than 60 other locations decades ago.
But the Port Royal site and the line cook known as “Ms. Jean” are still standing.
Johnson recently celebrated her 64th work anniversary at Horne’s, where she has a menu item named in her honor: the Jean Johnson Special, consisting of two eggs, a choice of ham, bacon, sausage or scrapple, home fries or grits and toast or a biscuit.
“I used to get off the school bus right out here,” said Johnson, pointing to U.S. Route 301 where the restaurant is located. “When I first started, I was making pecan pies, then I went from pecan pies to washing dishes, from washing dishes to salad girl, from salad girl to cook, and I’ve been cooking ever since.”
Gloria Jean Johnson has been in the kitchen at the Port Royal Horne’s for more than 60 years (Photo by Taft Coghill Jr.)
Regular customers, including those from across the Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge in Maryland, flock to Horne’s on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the days they know Johnson works.
“She cooks great, and all the customers just love her,” longtime waitress Lois Hart said.
When arthritis forced Johnson to cut back from three days a week to two, she broke down in a conversation with Horne’s owner Arthur Bourne.
“I’ve had a lot of managers, but I’ve never had anyone like Arthur and [his wife] Melissa,” Johnson said. “I just didn’t want to put them in a bind.”
Bourne said he thought something “catastrophic” had happened when Johnson told him she needed to talk.
“I said, ‘Why is Jean crying?’” Bourne recalled. “It shook me to my core. I sat her down, calmed her down a bit and she was still emotional. I was prepared for something terrible, and she said, ‘I can’t work three days a week anymore. I have to cut down to two.’
“Can you believe the burden that was lifted off of me? That’s how dedicated she is. She was emotional, to that degree, to cut back to two days a week.”
A few years ago, the Bournes paid for Johnson to take an all-inclusive, seven-day cruise to the Bahamas. Johnson went along with a co-worker and the co-worker’s family member. She said it was a memorable experience; she particularly enjoyed the slot machines.
Bourne said he gifted Johnson the vacation and has shown appreciation in other ways because “I absolutely think the world of her.”
“She is blessed. She is gifted. She is talented,” Bourne said. “I believe wholeheartedly that Ms. Jean is the heart and soul of this facility.”
When Bourne took over seven years ago, he recognized that Johnson had been a longtime, faithful worker. But he had doubts about her claims of longevity until he reviewed her employee records.
“She does not look her age,” he said. “So, I looked in her file, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, this lady is Horne’s.’”
Johnson said she initially applied to work at Horne’s for spending money while she was in high school. She lived within walking distance of the restaurant, and it was convenient. When she began working there, Route 301 was the primary highway in the region since Interstate 95 was not yet in operation. and business was booming.
“We used to have tour buses coming through. We used to have seven a day,” Johnson said. “We could take just two at a time. We couldn’t take all of them at once. It was crazy, I tell you.”
Having worked at the Port Royal Horne’s for 64 out of its 65 years of existence, Johnson saw the company’s heyday. But she also witnessed when business slowed down, as similar restaurants and gift shops such as Cracker Barrel established a presence in close proximity to the interstate.
The next-to-last Horne’s shut down in the 1980s, leaving the Port Royal location as the final one.
“The timing [of the construction of the interstate] worked great for Cracker Barrel, and this one went downhill,” Bourne said.
Still, the Port Royal location shows no signs of slowing down. Johnson said that when she ventures out, she is often recognized in the community. She recently went out for dinner at Legend’s Grille in Spotsylvania County and was stopped by a fellow diner.
“The guy said, ‘I know you. You cook at Horne’s,’” Johnson recalled with a laugh.
Johnson plans to continue as long as her health permits. She no longer lives within walking distance since she moved across the Rappahannock River to King George County 29 years ago. She drives herself to work, calculating it only takes seven minutes from home.
She said she’s in good physical condition overall but is concerned that if she slows down her activity, “that will be the end of it.”
Bourne certainly appreciates her efforts. Horne’s posted Johnson to its Facebook page on her work anniversary this past January. The post received more than 1,400 reactions and was shared over 200 times.
“She is just phenomenal,” Bourne said. “Everyone here looks up to her. She is a role model. She is one of the kindest, most caring individuals that I have ever met in my life. She is by far the most extraordinary person I’ve ever worked with in my life. To continue to do what she does, she’s just wonderful.”
