The return of Uncle Bud's

My heart sank a bit when I read this:

The rumor is true: Uncle Bud's will take up permanent residence in Nolensville.

Co-owner Craig Dever has signed a lease with property owner Vern Patterson to put an Uncle Bud's restaurant where Martin's BBQ Joint now operates. The timetable for the restaurant transition is a little muddy, so stay tuned. Once Martin's vacates, Uncle Bud's plans to set up its familiar trailer out front and will be open for business from 4 to 8 p.m. everyday. Meanwhile, Dever and crew will be setting up shop inside — moving in fryers, grills and décor, which is somewhat similar to Martin's décor.

Never fear, Martin's BBQ ain't closin'. It's just moving to more spacious digs.

That said, I'm more than a little indifferent about the return of Uncle Bud's. For those who don't know, Uncle Buds's is best known in these parts for its all-you-can-eat catfish 'n' fixins spread. At its apex in the early 90s, Uncle Bud's had a dozen or so restaurants operating in Nashville and Middle Tennessee. When the last Uncle Bud's went belly-up, well, I figured that was the end of Uncle Bud's.

I never cared much for anything that was served at Uncle Bud's. (I ate there many times -- more than I like to admit, actually -- but it was almost always at the insistence of family or friends who, thank God, picked up the tab.) The catfish was greasy; the white beans were from-a-can, and the hush puppies were from-a-mix; and the cole slaw ... well, let's just say that the cole slaw wasn't anywhere near as good as my Granny Ruby's cole slaw.

Now, Uncle Buds' wasn't all bad. They could serve up a fine plate of frog legs ... sometimes. Frog legs ain't chicken legs, lemme tell you. Leave 'em in a deep fryer two secends too long and they get hard as a rock. I never had bad frog legs at the I-40 Uncle Bud's; however, I had bad frog legs more than once at the I-24 Uncle Bud's, more than once. "Sometimes," indeed.

You can rest assured that I'll be visiting the new Martin's as soon as it opens. The new Uncle Bud's?

Unless you're paying, I won't be goin' there any time soon. So there.