Archives: Fried Green Tomatoes Loosely Inspired by Bess Fortenberry & Sue Lovelace (Alabama's Irondale Cafe)
I cried like a baby at the end of Fried Green Tomatoes. Without a doubt, Ninny was Idgie! She had to be. Now, the movie’s ending deviates from the book, and people say Ninny couldn’t have been Idgie, but she was. In the movie version, she was Idgie.
The writers probably altered the ending because it’s a great twist. Fannie Flagg, the author of the book, had already written an amazing story, but that adaptation…that tiny twist at the end was just perfect.
Sometimes our grandmothers tell stories just like that---in a circular way while holding back information until they are ready to reveal it, so it would make sense that the sweet little old lady telling this story was Idgie the whole time. What a surprise…what an unforgettable story and ending.
It was 2000 when I went to the Irondale library to research the movie and the true story. I remember there was an archive of old newspaper clippings, local magazine articles, and a scattering of black and white pictures of the real people in a binder. This was at the old location.
It was the first time I laid eyes on Bess Fortenberry and Sue Lovelace, the real-life inspiration for Idgie and Ruth. I wrote about them and brought those real photos and vintage information to the web. Of course, by then everyone knew who the real people were, but I don’t think many people had a chance to see the real Idgie—Bess Fortenberry—online.
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| Credit: Irondale Library, Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook |
Is the Movie Fried Green Tomatoes Based on a True Story?
The quick answer? Yes and no. The movie wasn’t based on a true story, per se—it’s a fictional adaptation of Fannie Flagg’s novel. But the film is loosely inspired by real people, a real cafe, a real town, and real-life situations. The movie’s Whistle Stop Cafe was based on the Irondale Cafe in Irondale, Alabama, run by Bess Fortenberry and Sue Lovelace—the real-life inspirations behind Idgie and Ruth.
She drove around to some old places from her childhood and stopped by her aunt’s home, where she was given a surprise box that her great-aunt Bess had left for her. Inside were items and papers that belonged to Bess. Flagg said her aunt’s whole life was in that small shoe box.
After receiving it, something magical happened later that night. Flagg drove by her grandmother’s old house and turned on her headlights. When the lights hit the windows up on the second floor, it looked like people were walking around up there.
And that’s when it hit her. She had to write about the town, Bess’s life, and all the stories she had heard about the small town during the Depression. Her goal was to bring the town “back to life,” she told the AJC.
The Fried Green Tomatoes movie premiered in theaters in 1991 and received a wide release in 1992, and here in Birmingham, Alabama, it was a “big deal.” Fannie Flagg came to town with movie producers and executives for a special screening of the film.
A former mining and railroad town, Irondale is now a bustling area just a spell away from Birmingham. It was during the Depression that Bess Fortenberry bought the cafe.
The Fortenberry family was well-known. Their home was located just around the corner from the cafe. I remember seeing the big white house in the 1990s when I first ate at the cafe, and when I returned to the area in the early 2000s, it was still there.
Fannie Flagg is from Alabama, and she was said to be Bess Fortenberry’s great-niece. Some say she was a relative, while others said she was just a friend of the family. However, Fannie Flagg herself has referred to Bess as her “great-aunt Bess” in her own writing.
The Irondale Cafe can be described as a charming place with a display of movie posters on the wall and a railroad just out front, similar to the movie version. That’s how I remember it.
I visited the real Whistle Stop Cafe for their tasty food a few times in the 1990s after seeing the film and again in the early 2000s with my daughter, IvyBrook, and once with my husband, Teo, and my son, Valentin.
The delicious fried green tomatoes at The Irondale Cafe had a beautiful flour-like coating—remarkably different from the coarse cornmeal coating shown in the movie.
With my entrée, I had fluffy dinner rolls, macaroni and cheese, and some of the crispiest fried chicken around town. Billy McMichael told the Houston Chronicle that the cafe went through a lot of fried green tomatoes.
“Every fourth tray will have a plate of fried green tomatoes,” he said. “People love 'em. I’m not sure why, except that the tomato is a fruit, and when you take a bite of a fried green tomato that’s cooked just right, it reminds you a little of an apple pie. Put a little sugar on them, and you’ll see what I mean.”
In the movie, The Whistle Stop Cafe is a sit-down country place where Idgie and Ruth served people at the tables. It was laid back and cozy—lots of hospitality and lingering conversations with customers.
When Bess and Sue had the cafe, people described it as a crowded, well-known hole-in-the-wall type joint, known for its veggies and quick hot sandwiches.
Today, the eatery is more cafeteria-style, with a sit-down dining experience and the same friendly service.
Fried Green Tomatoes was a beautiful film, not only cinematically, but also for the historical accuracy in this period piece and the incredible detail that went into the making of the movie. I really started to appreciate the art of storytelling—with that movie right there: Fried Green Tomatoes.
The character development was realistic and well-defined. I fell in love with just about every major character, especially Idgie, Ruth, and Ninny.
In fact, I was so moved by the film that I created a small blog dedicated to it in 2009 and wrote about it again for Examiner in 2013.
Even now, I rewatch the film every year or so with my kids. I even made my husband watch it with subtitles once. He teared up when Ruth died.
Speaking of Fried Green Tomatoes, you remember the plot of the film, don’t you?
Evelyn Couch is going through a midlife crisis, and her marriage is in trouble. She is bored. Overweight. And uninspired. She no longer feels sexy or important. Ed behaves much like the typical American husband after a long day at work. He wants food—meat and potatoes, and well…the remote.
But, in all honesty, it seems like he still has love and affection for Evelyn.
Life changed for Evelyn after she accompanied Ed to the nursing home to visit Ed’s relative. It was there that she met Ninny Threadgoode, a tiny, upbeat, and jovial woman who loved chocolate bars, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, bacon, and fried green tomatoes.
Ninny regaled Evelyn with stories about her hometown and the local diner. Evelyn formed a unique bond with Ninny and fell in love with her stories about the Whistle Stop Cafe and the deep love between Idgie and Ruth.
It wasn’t just about storytelling. Ninny knew Evelyn was at a crossroads, and she needed her friendship. Evelyn was not strong enough. She didn’t see her own inner power. Ninny awakened that within her.
A woman has to recognize her own power…by going within.
Through Ninny’s storytelling, Evelyn learned about self-empowerment and the importance of having strong, positive female friendships—ones based on love and genuine care, not competition or backbiting.
Evelyn had found herself again. She lost weight and started dancing. By the time Ninny was through with Evelyn, poor Ed didn’t know what to do with her. Evelyn even returned to the nursing home a time or two to visit Ninny without Ed!
In the movie, Idgie and Ruth ran the cafe together. They couldn’t have been more different. Ruth was sweet and nurturing. Idgie was brave and rebellious. What they had in common was this—both women cared deeply about the townspeople, and they showed their love and care by offering folks three key comforts of Southern living: good food, a cozy atmosphere, and a compassionate ear.
The Real Idgie and Ruth: Bess Fortenberry & Sue Lovelace
In real life, Bess Fortenberry and Sue Lovelace ran the Irondale Cafe. Sue was a lovely woman with silver hair. She was ladylike and pretty… just as sweet as pie—the complete opposite of Bess, a rugged tomboy with short black hair she constantly ran her fingers through.
They say Bess Fortenberry was “something else.” Like Idgie, Bess was not a girly girl. She loved hunting and could joke and talk smack with the best of the boys while playing poker. You were liable to hear anything come out of Bess’s mouth. She didn’t care how you took it. Bess was also a bit of a jokester—always playing tricks on people and finding it funny.
As one story told it, Bess “showed up at a Halloween party in a rented hearse and then stayed up all night playing poker with the boys.”
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| Credit: Irondale Library, possibly from Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook |
Sue constantly worried about Bess because Bess would stay out until midnight just about every night. One resident recalled how Sue tried to get back at Bess by pretending to stay out all night herself. She sat on the porch listening out for any sign of Bess; every time she heard a sound, she would run to the back of the house and hide in the bushes.
Earlier in the article, I mentioned how much Idgie and Ruth loved helping people. Well, the same was true for Sue and Bess.
When Sue Lovelace arrived in Irondale in the 1930s, she and Bess hit it off. They got really close at one time…very close.
But just as in the movie, there was a separation between them. Ruth ended up with a husband who gaslit and abused her.
In real life, none of the residents of Irondale seemed to know anything about any abuse, but one person said Sue once mentioned that she used to be married. Her husband became ill with tuberculosis, and he divorced her so that he would not pass the disease on to her.
Sue eventually left Irondale to return to work with a traveling theatrical company, where she worked as a director.
Some time later, Bess ran into Sue again in a grocery store in Mobile, Alabama. She brought Sue back, along with Sue’s friend, a talented Black soul food cook named Lizzie Cunningham.
Lizzie cooked at the cafe by day and lived in a tiny trailer behind it at night, while Bess and Sue spent their nights in the large Fortenberry house.
Together, the three women brought a lot of love and good cooking to the Alabama town. The Irondale Cafe became the hot spot, the chef’s kiss the small town needed.
That’s really what the community remembered the most. No one criticized them for their unusually close female relationship. Perhaps there were some whispers about it here and there. But mostly they were known for the love and warmth they showed to everyone, from transients and “tramps” to anyone who blew into the cafe from time to time.
Bess and Sue made sure the Irondale Cafe was a warm pit stop for grabbing an ice-cold drink and delicious food made from scratch.
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| Mary Jo McMichael and husband Billy McMichael Credit: Birmingham 1992 |
In later years, after the new owners took over, you were especially lucky if you could get a window seat, where you could hear the rumbling sound of freight trains in between bites, according to Birmingham Magazine.
In 1972, after running the cafe for several decades, Bess sold the cafe and retired after suffering a minor stroke. In the movie, Ruth had cancer. In real life, Sue suffered from shingles and was no longer able to work. Ruth died first in Fried Green Tomatoes, but in real life, Bess Fortenberry (Idgie) died first, on November 28, 1976, not long after selling the cafe.
In her eighties, Sue returned to Brewton, Alabama, to live with family until she died several years later.
The Oak Ridger stated Lizzie Cunningham stayed at the cafe and helped the new owner, Betty Jo McMichael, run it for a few years, until Lizzie died shortly after from high blood pressure and diabetes.
Fried Green Tomatoes is a timeless film that serves up the best food, the best storytelling, and, well, the best cry. So, whenever you feel like you need a good cry, rewatch it. It’s okay to purge now and then.
Credit: Fortenberry Family (Genealogy) Facebook Group
Notes & Tidbits
Though the place is known for its fried green tomatoes, some patrons said they liked the fried okra better, and the mac and cheese was to die for.
In the 1990s, the Irondale Cafe got its fresh supply of fried green tomatoes from the local farmers’ market on Finley Avenue.
Bess Fortenberry was born Sarah Elizabeth (Bess) Fortenberry on December 8, 1907, according to a family member of the Fortenberry Genealogy Facebook Group.
Cited Sources
Irondale Cafe - The Original Whistlestop Cafe website
Birmingham magazine, August 1992. Article about the Irondale Cafe, Bess Fortenberry, and Sue Lovelace.
Fried green tomatoes put restaurant on the map, July 21, 2000 | Oak Ridger, The (TN) Author/Byline: Cathy Ziegaus
Southern comfort - FRIED GREEN TOMATOES BRING BACK SWEET MEMORIES, May 12, 2000 | Houston Chronicle (TX) Author/Byline: DAI HUYNH
Places to Join
The Irondale Cafe Facebook page
Fortenberry Family (Genealogy) Facebook Group
Fannie Flagg's Facebook page
Buy Fannie Flagg's cookbook
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