Many residents of Spruce Pine and the surrounding areas have visited the local restaurant “Burgers n’ Crème” at least once over the years. Now, locals have the chance to experience the changes that new owners Cindy and Kevin Lawler have brought to the business.
Both Cindy and Kevin are from Phil Campbell, where Kevin was a student in high school. Cindy, however, was a student at Belgreen. They wanted to own a restaurant for years, and took the opportunity to purchase the business after learning it was for sale.
Now operating under the name “Homestead Café,” the restaurant has already seen some changes. The new owners offer 'all you can eat' catfish on Friday and Saturday, breakfast six mornings a week from 6-10 a.m., and have started to include their own recipes as new menu items.
The changes do not stop there either.
“We’re going to try and get soft-serve ice cream and stuff like that so we can do milkshakes, but everything takes time," Cindy said. "It’s a process. A slow process."
The changes that were made have positively affected business. Homestead Café has been busy almost every night since Cindy and Kevin took over the business.
“You can ask our boys--they say that they’ve never seen it this busy,” Cindy said.
Even when new additions do not work out, the new owners continue to press on and are not afraid to go back to the drawing board. If they try something new and it does not appear to be working, the two will try and come up with something else to spice up the restaurant.
The Lawlers are not showing signs of slowing down any time soon. When asked about their plans for the future of the restaurant, Cindy said that continued growth was her main concern.
“I hope it grows, and I hope we have to add on,” Cindy said.
The pair also said that they try and listen to customers and give people what they want.
“We’ve got an open ear. This restaurant has had several different owners, and a few have done pretty good," Kevin said. "We have customers come in and say that a previous owner did this, so we’re listening to what really works and what the customer really wants."
The two expressed interest in cooking with fresh, local produce as much as possible during the spring and summer. Some items they mentioned were fresh squash, okra and green tomatoes. Cindy and Kevin are experienced gardeners, having owned a produce stand in Russellville before the Homestead Café.
According to Cindy, the most popular things about the café are the signature buffet and the homemade meatloaf. Most customers ask about what is on the buffet each time they come in, and the restaurant goes through a good amount of meatloaf on Sunday afternoons. Kevin even praised Cindy for her meatloaf recipe and the way she cooks the food at Homestead.
“She’s changed not the item that’s being served, but what the item might taste like," Kevin said. "Or the texture might be different. You can use different batters, you can salt or not salt; there are just a lot of little things you can do to please the customer."
When asked what their favorite thing about the restaurant was, both Cindy and Kevin said they enjoyed the experience of trying out something new.
“I’ve always wanted to do it," Cindy said. "It came up, and I just said, 'Let’s try something new.' I’m all about that. We’re only going to live once, so let’s just do it."
The Lawlers wanted the public to know a few things about the new Homestead Café. Aside from it being under new management, they also wanted everyone to know that they are welcome, and their friendly staff will be happy to serve them.
Homestead Café is open seven days a week and is located at 6631 Highway 43 in Spruce Pine. Daily menus are posted on the restaurant's Facebook page. For more information, call (256) 331-1111.
