Silver Creek Restaurant to reopen 'soon'

Tom McCombs, owner of Silver Creek Restaurant on West Union Street, takes a visitor through his business, out the back door, and points to a spot roughly 5 feet up a power pole.

“That’s where the water came to that Saturday morning (after Hurricane Helene),” he said. “And, of course, the water was 4 to 5 feet high inside the restaurant. We had never even had high water in the parking lot in all the years before then.”

The interior of the popular eatery, which stays busy from 5 in the morning to 9 in the evening, was “absolutely wrecked, everything pretty much ruined or destroyed,” McCombs said.

The Morganton native faced a choice: Close up and level the building that is a city landmark or refurbish, rebuild, and renovate.

“I have 33 employees,” said McCombs of the consideration that powered his decision. “Many of them are veteran employees. All of them are my friends. I wanted to do what was necessary to get them back to work as quickly as possible.”

And now, a little more than four months after Helene and her furious floodwaters turned life upside down in Burke County, Silver Creek Restaurant is very close to reopening.

“Just say ‘soon,’” replied McCombs when asked when the first hamburger patties will hit the new grill. “There’s a lot of moving parts in a renovation this massive and I don’t want to disappoint anyone.”

McCombs talks as he stands in the middle of the restaurant dining room. At least a dozen workers are in the building, some on ladders, some under sinks, all busy as the proverbial bees.

“What folks will be coming into is basically a new restaurant,” McCombs said. “Other than the walls, basically every part of this building is new. New equipment, new tables, new restroom fixtures, you name it, it’s new.”

McCombs also promised his patrons some new menu choices.

“I’d rather that be a surprise that they discover the first time they come in,” he said. “But I think everyone is going to be pleased with the additions we’re making.”

McCombs praised local government officials, with both the city and the county, for their cooperation in helping expedite the necessary permitting and inspections for the renovation.

Also, on hand at Silver Creek was McComb’s son, Thomas, who serves as general manager of the restaurant.

Asked why the restaurant has such a devoted following, he replied, “Customer service. We’ve got a lot of veteran employees who know how to treat people right. Our menu is strong. We’ve got a great variety. And our prices are good.”

The Paper’s reporter, whose mouth waters at the very thought of an all-the-way Silver Creek hot dog, presses the elder McCombs again for a firm opening date folks can put on their calendar.

“Soon,” he replies with a smile. “Soon.”