Out-of-the-oven biscuits, buttered cornbread and freshly brewed coffee complement an array of mama’s famous sayings on the walls at Mama’s Daughters’ Diner, located at 6509 W. Park Blvd.
Mama’s sayings range from “Walk the walk” to “Don’t text and drive.”
“All our mothers said [these things]. I don’t care who your mother is—they all said these things,” owner Nancy Procaccini said.
Nancy grew up in the comfort food business when her mother, Norma Manis, started a cafe that reflected her pride for serving home-cooked country food. Norma opened the first Mama’s Daughters’ Diner in Dallas in 1988.
Since Norma’s death in 2013, her daughters, and now her granddaughter, are carrying forward her love of cooking and feeding people. It is one of the cultural customs, traditions and recipes that are passed on from one generation to the next, Nancy said.
“Mama worked alongside people and those people trained other people and there’s really not a written program,” she said. “There’s not a notebook that we pull out and look at. So every diner is a little unique.” Norma’s opened her first cafe in 1958. She later opened Norma’s Cafe in 1969, which she later sold.
In 2010, when the economy was reeling from the Great Recession, she opened the Plano restaurant, the largest of Norma’s four diners. Other locations are in Irving and Forney.
“There’s a higher occupancy rate out here in this area that’s brought in a lot more business,” Nancy said about the Plano diner.
Norma’s four daughters grew up in the business. Nancy’s sister-in-law, Laura Bowers, has worked at the Plano location as a manager since its inception. Bowers said the diner has lots of regular customers—especially at the counter where customers eat while chatting with the staff. Daily specials and all-day breakfast are the large draws for both regulars and new customers alike, she said.
Some of mama’s (a.k.a Norma)sayings such as, “Make sure that everyone who enters the diner leaves happy,” and “Don’t judge anyone because everyone has their own story,” are still heard through servers’ greetings and attention to customers. Laura and Nancy, along with Nancy’s daughter, Bonnie Jaggers, carry these sayings with them in their daily work at the diner and in their personal lives.
“It’s a busy thing. The strong love that I got for the diner was when I worked side-by-side with mama,” Laura said. “I can honestly say that before that—it was just a job.”
Bonnie started helping out at the diner as a waitress in high school. Now she runs the diner in Forney, which opened last year.
As a member of the third generation of Norma’s family to get involved in the diner business, Bonnie said she loves going to work.
“I love talking to people and serving people food,” she said. “It’s just in my blood—I can’t help it.”
6509 W. Park Blvd., Ste. 400
972-473-8877
www.mamasdaughtersdiner.com
Hours: Mon. 6 a.m.-3 p.m., Tue.-Sat. 6 a.m.-8 p.m. and Sun. 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
