Restaurant manager Cathy Burgess says staff first noticed the country music singer coming out of the washroom about 12:30 p.m. Thursday.
“He asked for a glass of water and one of the ladies was all excited, she was saying ‘I just gave Charley Pride a glass of water’,” says Burgess. “As soon as he realized we had clued in to who he was, he left.”
Dayna Snook, a cook at the restaurant, hadn’t seen Pride and she and Burgess went out into the parking lot for glimpse.
They asked Pride’s companions if they could get a photo - the singer obliged and leaned out of his vehicle for a photo with the two ladies.
“Dayna is all excited because when he was hugging us for the photo he touched her leg,” says Burgess.
The American country singer was at the height of his success in the 1970s. He is best known for ‘Kiss an Angel Good Morning but also ‘Is Anybody going to San Antone?’ and ‘Crystal Chandeliers.’ In all he had 29 number one hits on the Billboard Hot County Charts. He had over 50 songs in the top ten.
Pride performed a concert at the Rebecca Cohen in Halifax Thursday night - tickets to that show were $111.
Burgess says the Masstown Market gets its fair share of celebrities.
“Sidney Crosby usually comes every Canada Day, his family has a cottage out this way, he usually makes it as far as the restaurant before someone recognizes him and then he’s gone,” she says.
Thane Dunn the Elvis impersonator is also in regularly, as is Classified, a rapper from Enfield, and Jonathan Torrens of the Trailer Park Boys.
“You have to have your eyes open all the time out here because you never know who you are going to see,” says Burgess. “But I’d say Charley Pride is the biggest so far.”
