By Erica Thomas, managing editor
TRUSSVILLE — Every day offers a new opportunity for each of us to do something special for another person. Maybe we buy coffee for the person behind us in the line at Starbucks, or maybe we pay off someone’s layaway at Walmart. Or perhaps, a simple smile is just what the doctor ordered for a stranger and we are there to offer it just in the nick of time.
Not far from the corner of Main Street and Chalkville Road, in downtown Trussville, sits a charming soda fountain and sandwich shop. The Three Earred Rabbit serves fresh lunches, including a variety of salads, sandwiches and exquisite desserts. Owner Christine Leonardi has made it her mission to create a family environment. From the servers to the executive chef, each member of the team is an important part of everyday operations.
As soon as you walk in the door, you are transported to another place and time. A simpler time when a milkshake could cure a child’s broken spirit and the old men in town gathered every morning for a cup of coffee to talk about nothing. One of the first things you notice inside the Three Earred Rabbit is the executive chef. Jon Hall has been at the restaurant for about seven years. When you come in the doors, you can almost bet Hall will have a smile on his face. It is evident, that he is taking advantage of that opportunity to do something special for someone else.
Jon Hall, Three Earred Rabbit.
Hall gets up every morning at 5 a.m. and works out before coming into work. He also has a wife, a 14-year-old son, and a five-year-old daughter at home.
“So, I get up every morning, workout, get the kids ready and I come right here,” said Hall.
When he gets to work, he begins to slice fresh meats and prepares them for sandwiches.
“He makes sure the meats are all in the baggies,” Leonardi explained. “We use good, quality products, and his job in the morning is important because it keeps our cost where it needs to be. Not only that, if you don’t have enough meat on your sandwich, then that’s not good, so he is in charge of that.”
Originally from Bullock County, Alabama, the self-proclaimed “country boy” started cooking when he was seven years old. His family moved to the Chalkville area when he was around 11 or 12 years old and he had his first job by the time he was 15.
“I worked at McDonald’s on Chalkville Road,” Hall said.
In high school, Hall played football under legendary coach Hal Riddle. Hall was on the 1999 State Championship-winning football team. He graduated later that year and continued to play football at Tennessee State University, in Nashville. He didn’t hang up his knives and spatulas while playing on the gridiron. Even during college, he was working in restaurants.
After leaving college in Tennessee, Hall came back home. He eventually went to Culinard and has worked in a variety of restaurants since. But the Three Earred Rabbit stands out for Hall.
“The family dynamic is my favorite part,” said Hall. “You know, I’ve worked at a lot of restaurants and I can honestly say that working here, it’s more of a family dynamic. It’s more than just co-workers.”
Leonardi says the whole team works to make things efficient. Even she keeps an eye out on tables to make sure the inner works of the business are churning.
“We fight like brothers and sisters and we love like brothers and sisters,” Leonardi added. “We have really nice relationships.”
Hall is a hard worker. Not only does he work fast to try and keep up with everyone else, but he does it with a really big smile.
“To be honest with you, I am a truly blessed man, saved, Christian,” Hall said when asked why he smiles so much. “I am from the old school. You can tell folks that you’re a Christian all day but if they don’t see that exude through you….I like to exude positivity. Everything is so negative that’s going on and I just like to be a shining light.”
Executive Chef Jon Hall greets guests at the Three Earred Rabbit in Trussville.
And a shining light he is. Hall said a lot of the guests at the Three Earred Rabbit are elderly and some of them are only in Trussville to visit one of the many medical centers in town. That alone gives him the motivation to keep a big smile on his face.
“I always tell my coworkers, ‘you never know today what somebody is going through,” said Hall. “The least I can do is give them some good food and a smiling face when they come in that door.”
Not only are his coworkers like family, but Hall said he wants each and every guest to feel like family. In fact, one regular couple that has been coming to eat at the Three Earred Rabbit for about four years has recently pulled on his heartstrings. One day, the husband came alone, so Hall asked him if his wife was okay.
“He sat there and looked at me and said, ‘yeah, she just got done with chemo treatment and this was her last day. She wanted one of your sandwiches because it’s the only thing that she can actually enjoy,” Hall remembered. “The whole time they have been coming in here, I never knew she had cancer so you never know.”
It really is amazing what a sandwich can do. But Hall wants to offer people much more than a BLT.
“When a guest comes in the door, I talk to them like I’ve known them for my whole life,” Hall said. “Good food and a smile goes a long way for some people. It really does.”
Leonardi is thankful to have Hall greeting her customers, and she says Hall has grown tremendously since his first day on the job.
“You don’t always get second chances,” said Leonardi. “If you come in here and you have a bad experience, they don’t always give us a second chance. And that’s sad because, we’re the little guy, so we need to make that impression the first time they walk in.”
Hall said one of the first conversations Leonardi ever had with him was about how important his position in the front of the restaurant is. He said that conversation has stuck with him over the years.
From fast food to five-star and now to a charming sandwich shop on Main Street in Trussville, this Culinard graduate said his journey is one he hopes inspires others.
“Just work hard,” Hall said. “Nothing is ever guaranteed. I was always taught that if you want anything, you are going to have to work for it. Just because you are working at a certain place, like a fast food place, don’t feel like you’re stuck because God has a plan and that is just your starting point. Every day when you wake up, try to be a better person than you were when you went to sleep. Every day is a chance for you to be a blessing for someone.”
