Beloved breakfast spot finds a fresh start in Dysartsville

Burke County, get ready to “Elevate” your breakfast and lunch game. A restaurant that has become a Marion institution is closing Saturday, March 1, but the manager, wait staff, and cooks are opening a new cafe, and this one is in Dysartsville, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the county line.

Elevate Breakfast Company has been open on Main Street in Marion for three years, and its reputation of delicious homestyle food along with fast, friendly service has made it the go-to place for breakfast and lunch downtown. The eatery is typically crowded during peak hours, with customers waiting for tables.

Now the building’s landlord has chosen not to renew the restaurant’s lease, and Elevate’s owner does not want to reopen the eatery in another location.

But fans of the popular restaurant need not worry. “Big Mama,” the restaurant’s manager, and her “girls” are taking their popular dishes and standout service to a new locale. They’re transforming the former Baker’s Cafe in Dysartsville into Heifers Homeplace Vittles.

Husband Marty and I made our farewell visit to Elevate last week, (we ate there at least every other week) and we had an opportunity to talk to Big Mama about the big move.

“Please just call me Big Mama,” she said, when I asked for her name for this article. “That’s what I want everybody to know me as.”

At Heifers, old friends and new customers will find the comfort of a familiar, though not identical menu, featuring many of Elevate’s best-sellers.

On top of that list, are Big Mama’s popular pancakes (head’s up — they are as big as a dinner plate and taste like they’re made with cake batter) and her grandma’s secret recipe gravy.

“We’re going to keep those pancakes,” Mama said, “and Grandma’s gravy is not going anywhere — that’s a home secret.”

She said the Heifers menu will also include additional favorites: French toast and omelets, as well as traditional breakfast favorites like eggs, bacon, sausage, livermush, and biscuits.

Customers will see lots of familiar faces at the new place, in both the dining room and the kitchen.

“It’s going to be great,” Mama said. “I’m taking all of my girls with me, and I’m taking my kitchen help, too.”

Mama and her girls will serve breakfast and lunch six days each week, with a day off on Wednesdays. The restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Heifers will feature lunch specials, often homestyle dishes like pinto beans, meatloaf, and vegetable soup, in addition to a regular midday menu.

I can guarantee that newcomers will be bowled over not only by the delicious food, but also by the warm welcome they’ll get from the wait staff, who refer to customers as “honey” and “baby.”

When the Elevate doors close for the last time, Big Mama and her crew plan to take about 10 days to prepare the new place for business. They hope to open the doors at Heifers on Monday, March 10.

“I’m a firm believer in wowing somebody every single time they come in,” she said, “and consistency matters.”

If a meal at Heifers is like a meal at Elevate, customers will certainly be wowed. I predict lots of Marion folks will make the drive down N.C. 226 to Dysartsville to get their weekly (and daily) fix of Big Mama’s scratch-made meals.

And I also predict Big Mama is about to win a whole new legion of Burke County fans who will find their way to her new place, settle at a table, sample her home cooking, and declare they’ve just discovered their new favorite breakfast place.

And I guarantee you won’t mind the wait for a table.