GENTRY -- Ribbons have been cut at two recently opened restaurants in Gentry, with a third expected to follow soon.
On Thursday, a ribbon was cut at Miss Mary's, located on Gentry Blvd., just south of the intersection of Arkansas Highways 12 and 59.
The restaurant is owned and operated by Mary Varner and her husband Keven. The business officially opened on July 21.
Mary said the restaurant business is "in her blood" and owning and operating her own restaurant in Gentry is something she just wanted to do.
The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. until 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and offers area residents a wide variety of traditional breakfast and lunch entrees, including options for those who choose to go vegetarian by offering veggie burgers and veggie sausage.
Breakfast, which is served all day, includes egg dishes, omelets, biscuits and gravy, and pancakes. The entrees are offered with ham, bacon, grilled chicken or steaks.
The lunch menu features burgers, salads and a wide variety of sandwiches with all the fixings.
And to round out the meals, desserts include a variety of pies, cobblers, banana pudding and ice cream.
Mary said she employs 12 to 15 to wait on customers, cook and do other kitchen and restaurant duties.
Pam's Sugar Shack Opens
Pam's Sugar Shack, located at 183 Rebecca Street -- just a little further south along Gentry Blvd. -- has been open just a little longer. The ribbon was cut there earlier in August, and the restaurant opened on July 14.
The restaurant, owned by Pam Tedford along with her husband Doug, also serves breakfasts and lunches. Hours are 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturdays. Both restaurants are closed on Sundays.
Pam offers breakfast and lunch buffets to meet the needs of those on the way to work or trying to find a good meal within the confines of a lunch break. Breakfast offerings include bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, oven-fried potatoes, biscuits and toast.
The breakfast buffet is from 5 to 10 a.m., and the lunch buffet is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sandwiches are available all the time, she said.
Lunch buffets feature meat loaf on Mondays, baked chicken with rice on Tuesdays, taco salad on Wednesdays, chicken and noodles on Thursdays and lasagna on Fridays. Pam said she also offers a variety of sandwiches.
"Everything is homemade," she said. "And people love my homemade bread and homemade rolls," she added. She also bakes pies, cakes, cupcakes and cookies.
Pam also features specialty coffees at her business, and free WiFi is available.
"I just want this to be a cozy place where people feel comfortable and spend time and hang out," Pam said.
Pam says opening a restaurant is something she "always wanted to do." She said she's made cakes for 30 years and was also an employee at McKee Foods.
"I thought it was time to bite the bullet and do what I like to do," she said.
Her husband Doug is retired but enjoys collecting old barn wood and antique items, which is evident from the restaurant's decorative furnishings.
In addition to her and her husband, Pam employs two part-time and one full-time person to assist her with the restaurant's operation.
And business has been good, Pam said.
General News on 09/03/2014