Toddle House began in Tennessee and Texas before spreading, mostly north and east, with the acquisition of some 40 or more Hull Dobbs restaurants, including two in my home town of New Haven, Connecticut. I once worked in a Toddle house in Austin, Texas in the ’50s, saying sure when the manager doing the hiring asked whether I had any experience as a cook. I lied. I started the next morning and thanks to the sole waitress telling me what to do every step of the way I kept my job cooking for six months, until a better job came along.