By Elizabeth Hey

A crowded parking lot and busy waiting room attest to the homemade goodness served inside Billy Gail’s. For 20 years, this much-loved Branson eatery has served breakfast and lunch.

Located in a 1960s log cabin-style gas station, its original owner was the first conductor for Silver Dollar City’s railroad.

Ozarky and fun, red checked tablecloths and solid red curtains reflect owner Gail Blong’s cheery persona. Oil lanterns, retrofitted with electricity, line the paneled walls. Servers bustle around the small dining areas wearing jeans and red T-shirts touting “One Big Family—Hundreds of Friends—A Tradition” emblazoned on the back.

“The first day we opened without much fanfare,” says Gail. “I knew we’d be successful, and now we serve 400 to 500 people daily during high season.”

On a December weekday morning as my husband and I walked through the door, a woman from Overbrook, Kansas, commented that they’d visited Branson for years, and Billy Gail’s has been one of their go-to spots. Confirming her opinion, the kitschy gift shop/waiting room was already filling with hungry diners. Behind the counter, Gail ran the cash register. As each person paid, they received her sincere sendoff, “Have a blessed day!” One note, Billy Gail’s takes cash and checks.

The tried and true menu has seen minor tweaking throughout the years. Gail’s famous sloppy biscuit combines a homemade biscuit, cheese, sausage and egg smothered with her from-scratch gravy and hash browns. Another winner, the chicken-fried steak with hash browns, also comes covered in her decadent gravy that most people splurge on only during vacation. Four-egg omelets, as feather-light as any I’ve eaten, include Gail’s Famous Omelet stuffed with ham, cheddar cheese, onions, green and red peppers and mushrooms.

And the pancakes! Fluffy cakes lap over dinner-size ironstone plates. Our waitress urged us to order the French pancake, coated in French toast batter before it’s cooked on the grill and dipped in powdered sugar prior to serving. For lovers of French toast, it’s the best of both worlds.

After breakfast, I browsed the floor-to-ceiling shelves that line the walls. Customers and employees bring in antique glassware and knick knacks for sale. I couldn’t resist green and blue retro votives and an antique yellow pitcher that’s perfect for cut flowers—mementos of a newfound favorite in Branson.

Visit online at Facebook.com/BillyGailsCafe.