She owns the Lewisville location of Mama’s Daughters’ Diner, a vintage-style cafe that offers a variety of Southern-cooked meals, including chicken fried steak, roast beef with gravy, fried catfish and meatloaf. Some of its most popular items include cornbread, biscuits and baked pies.
The diner was started in Dallas in 1988 by Bowers’ mother, Norma Manis, who opened the original Norma’s Café in Dallas in 1968.
“My mother sold Norma’s to a gentleman when she thought she would retire,” Bowers said, “But she got back into [the restaurant business] and started Mama’s Daughters’ [Diner] since everyone called her Mama anyway.”
Bowers, the youngest of four siblings, opened the Lewisville location in 1999 after hitting a jackpot at a Louisiana casino.
“When a customer approached me in Dallas with a vacant spot [in Lewisville], I had to go see it.”
Bowers’ sister took over ownership of the other diners in Plano, Irving, Dallas and Forney after Manis died in 2013. A second Dallas location on Royal Lane is a franchise with a separate owner.
Since opening in Lewisville, Bowers said she has kept the same staff for decades.
“Some of my staff have worked here since 1999,” she said. “They just never seem to want to leave.”
Bowers said COVID-19 was an obstacle she never anticipated.
“We lost clients, and people were scared to go anywhere,” she said. “We feel fortunate because we already had such an established business, and to-go orders were already 25% of my business.”
In addition, Bowers said she had been participating in the Meals on Wheels program for seniors for years. Bowers said she would pack 25-30 meals a day and send them with volunteers who would then deliver them to local nursing homes.
Bowers said because of her growing popularity with to-go orders, she built a larger client base with more young people who visited the diner.
“As my mother always told me,” Bowers said, “Word of mouth is and has always been the best marketing strategy.”
Mama’s Daughters’ Diner, 1288 W. Main St., Lewisville. 972-353-5955. https://mamasdaughtersdiner.com. Hours: Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat. 8 a.m.-2 p.m., closed Sun.
