Four Winds and original Ranger Burger making a comeback

The famed Ranger Burger lives once again.

Four Winds restaurant owner Linda “Susan” Cox said Monday she has found someone to take over the business in nearby Cusseta, Ga., which had closed suddenly Nov. 22 after the previous tenant decided not to renew a lease.

The family who operated Pate’s Barbecue for 35 years in Louvale, Ga., nine miles from Cusseta, will be reopening the 300-seat eatery Dec. 15, promising to put the original-recipe Ranger Burger back on the menu, along with other Four Winds items from the past, and new barbecue offerings.

“We are very excited about it, and sort of scared at the same time. I guess it’s just a new adventure,” joked Gladys Ann Pate, whose niece, cousins and other family members will be cranking the Four Winds back up in two weeks after a lengthy search for a restaurant site in nearby Richland and Preston, Ga.

Pate, the longtime postmaster of the U.S. Post Office in Cusseta, said a relative read of the restaurant’s closing on Facebook, prompting her to reach out to Cox, who founded Four Winds with her late husband, Donald, in 1979. It relocated to the current location in 1992 after several years of construction that included off-duty Army Rangers.

“I knew her real well,” Pate said of Cox. “I called her and said we would just love to lease that restaurant ... We used to go out there and eat with Linda and them and have lunch, and eat there at night sometimes.”

Cox said she had received a handful of inquiries from people considering reopening the eatery, which was closed by Columbus restaurateur Mark Jones after a year of operating it.

Four Winds is located at 464 Georgia Hwy. 26, not far from Fort Benning’s southern border. It had been very popular with soldiers — from privates to generals — some of whom would attempt the original Ranger Burger challenge. It consisted of devouring four of the one-pound burgers topped with two slices of cheese and two strips of bacon on a large bun.

The current challenge record is 11 minutes and 56 seconds, said Cox, who has been assured the Pates will return to the original Ranger Burger recipe and restore the “wall of fame” that included plaques from military units and others thanking the staff for their great service.

“They want things put back the way it was,” said Cox. “A lot of my menu’s coming back, like the roast beef and the country-fried steak dinner, and the hamburger steak is coming back, where you can order a large or small. He just had one size.”

Pate said there are plans to have chicken tenders and catfish filets on the menu, as well as items such as T-bone steaks. There will be weekend evening specials that include catfish, shrimp and fried chicken.

And there will be the Pate’s own barbecue and Brunswick stew. It was served to many a military personnel as well, with Pate’s Barbecue in Louvale commonly being referred to as “Ma Pate’s Barbecue” because of her mother faithfully operating the eatery for decades, closing it about five years ago. "Ma Pate," otherwise known as Amelia Pate, passed away last year.

“That’s one reason we wanted to do this, to keep her legacy going,” said Pate, whose cousin, Russ Henson, and niece, Danielle Pate, will manage Four Winds, with a bunch of other family members helping out often as needed. Gladys Pate said she will be “like the silent partner” in charge of everything.

“She sort of knows my whole family,” Pate said of Cox. “One thing that she liked is it’s going to be family oriented.”

Cox said she is “very, very confident” in the Pates and their ability to run a successful restaurant and take care of her famed Ranger Burger.

“It was a big load off my mind, a very big load,” she said, stressing she has decided not to sell the Four Winds property because she realizes what makes it an “icon” is her founding ownership. She conceded the restaurant and Ranger Burger are somewhat like the children she and Donald never had.

“The Ranger Burger’s my baby,” Cox said. “I’m very proud of it, and I want to take care of it, like it was my baby.”

Pate said the ribbon cutting for the revived Four Winds will be 10 a.m. Dec. 15. Hours of operation will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

“We’re going to close on Sunday,” she said. “That’s the Lord’s day.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2014 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Four Winds and original Ranger Burger making a comeback."