POWERGRAMS

31 Creek restaurant is recommended by locals as a top spot for an inexpensive breakfast and lunch. Garner's latest eatery excursion is at the Elmore Community Hospital. In 2016, Chief Operations Officer Michael Ritzus sought out his former Vintage Year restaurant boss to turn the typical hospital cafeteria into something special that could also ease the burden on employees who were rushing back and forth downtown for meals. Garner, with manager Amanda Teasley, buffet coordinator Lyn Golden and six kitchen employees, began reshaping the facility to serve not only the hospital's rehab patients and staff, but visitors and catering requests. Their lunch menu changes daily, from tacos to fried chicken or catfish, to New Orleans-style or Asian entrees, which follow the full breakfast buffet added this year that includes eggs, grits, bacon, sausage and toast. Breakfast from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. is $6.25, lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. is $8.95. Military and first-responders get a discount. "We're serving fresh local vegetables and other ingredients; nothing is canned," Garner says. "The police love coming in here; they're here every morning. It's cheaper than going to a fast-food place." Garner has made friends and loyal customers through his willingness to stray from the buffet or daily menu. He cooks to order on request, just as he does when he volunteers to serve the homeless on weekends or take Meals on Wheels to the elderly, as he's done for 25 years. He continues catering University of Alabama functions – he has Terry Saban's cellphone number – and enjoys filling unusual food requests for special occasions. "To me, every customer is special," Garner says. "Everything I make, I put my heart and soul into. I take a lot of pride in making every dish perfect." There's No Business Like Show Business It was perfect casting a decade ago putting Kristy Meanor in the role of artistic director of the Wetumpka Depot Players. After all, she'd been part of the amateur group since her high school days, performing in plays going back to 1983 after her dancing teacher choreographed a new step. "She pulled me aside and said you're not much of a dancer but you're funny and would be great onstage," Meanor says with a laugh inside the renovated Main Street grocery store that became the permanent theater and offices in 2000. Now in their 37th season, the Depot Players have become the most acclaimed community theater in the state under Meanor's guidance, winning best annual performance trophies five times in the past eight years. The actors and production personnel – some of them professionally trained – are from "all over the river region," volunteering their time and talents for the craft they love, and sold-out audiences love to watch. "We have regular customers who come from all over the South," Meanor says of the four main stage shows that between 10 and 40 Depot Players produce annually involving practicing and performing for two months or more. They put on a couple of smaller shows each year, including a holiday performance for kids, who are really the impetus for everything about the theater group. "We have a great collaboration with our school system," Meanor says. "We work to bridge the gap of funding for the arts programs." About 5,000 schoolchildren each year watch plays or participate in workshops at the Depot, much in the fashion of Meanor, who went on to perform in theater at Auburn University at Montgomery and in regional productions. Summer camps are tuition-based, but scholarships funded by businesses like Alabama Power and arts groups are offered to children who can't afford to pay. Plays for students are discounted from the normal $12 advance/$15 at-the-door tickets. "Our goal is to never turn a child away," Meanor says. "We tell the schools, don't leave anyone behind." Three seasons ago, Meanor launched the Encore Players for the retired community. She says most of the actors are women, including former nurses, teachers and bankers. They perform at nursing homes, churches and other places that are convenient for the intended audience. "Not only do we feel like we're reaching out to them, but they're reaching out to the community, too," Meanor says. The lobby wall outside the 160-seat auditorium is lined with photos of most every cast since 1980, including shots of Meanor. Some communities boast of dinner theaters, but the Depot Players are pleased to offer only soft drinks, candy and "the world's best popcorn" for their performances. "Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash" was a big success to open this year, followed by "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" April 27- May 13, "Southern Fried Funeral" July 13-29 and "I Do! I Do!" Sept. 14-30. "We joke that we're probably the most laid-back theater around," Meanor says. "We're not the stuffy theater; people come here casually dressed. When I go to a big venue, I feel disconnected. I think our audience feels connected to whatever show we're doing." Wetumpka Depot Players perform 'Ring of Fire.' Local actors sing for sold-out theater. Garner at Ivy Creek.

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