“A family affair”: Farm House Restaurant brings new dining option to Columbus

Published 10:00 pm Thursday, January 21, 2016

Keith and Melissa Henderson opened The Farm House Restaurant on last Friday, at 322 East Mills St. in Columbus. According to Melissa, the restaurant was inspired by the farm she grew up on as well as the cooking her great grandparents did when she was little. The restaurant menu will take on that theme, featuring homemade burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and breakfast items. The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and will be closed Sundays. (Photo by Michael O’Hearn)

Keith and Melissa Henderson opened The Farm House Restaurant on last Friday, at 322 East Mills St. in Columbus. According to Melissa, the restaurant was inspired by the farm she grew up on as well as the cooking her great grandparents did when she was little. The restaurant menu will take on that theme, featuring homemade burgers, sandwiches, soups, salads and breakfast items. The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and will be closed Sundays. (Photo by Michael O’Hearn)

By Michael O’Hearn

 

michael.ohearn@tryondailybulletin.com

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A new restaurant debuted in Columbus on Jan. 15, and owners Keith and Melissa Henderson want to bring the comforts of the farm to town.

 

The Farm House Restaurant is located at 322 E. Mills Street just past downtown Columbus on the way to Polk County High School and Mill Spring on Highway 108.

 

Melissa is a nurse at Rutherford Regional Hospital and her husband Keith works as a North Carolina State Trooper who was just recently stationed in Polk County after moving from Charlotte to Hendersonville and now back here to the county.

 

The couple has six children and the restaurant serves as the other part of the dream she had as a kid, according to Melissa.

 

“It started when I was little because I wanted a big family and I wanted to own my own restaurant,” Melissa explained. “So, the big family came first, we have six children ages 22 all the way down to one, and my husband is a highway patrol officer and I work in the emergency room at Rutherford Hospital.”

 

Melissa, Keith and their six children live on a farm, and their farm serves as the inspiration and backdrop for their restaurant.

 

“I’ve always loved to cook, even with my girls,” Melissa said. “I’ve always loved being in the kitchen, so now I’m going to try a new avenue with this job and nursing on the side.”

 

This happens to be Melissa’s first business venture, although she does run a concession stand at local events that serves everything from fried Oreos to cotton candy.

 

“That’s mainly my intention to be home more with the kids, to be able to do what I like with them in the kitchen,” Melissa said.

 

The menu will include a full course breakfast, having everything from pancakes to French toast and biscuits and gravy.

 

Lunch and dinner will include a list of hamburgers, sandwiches and salads. A dinner special will be selected by Melissa and will typically be planned out a week or two in advance for the menus.

 

“You can order everything from French toast to pancakes to a ‘grand slam’ so to speak at breakfast,” Melissa detailed. “We’ll be serving every day from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and we’ll also have a lunch special every day of the week too. Everything is from scratch, the biscuits are from scratch, hand-pattied burgers, casseroles, whatever, you name it. Everything is homemade.”

 

Breakfast will also be served from 6 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The restaurant will be closed Sundays.

 

Melissa said her favorite meal to cook would have to be the turkey and dressing with mashed potatoes and homemade macaroni and cheese.

 

“I had no idea it would come together so easily. We’ve looked for a long time but everything was so expensive,” Melissa said. “But then we looked into this which already the kitchen and equipment, the tables and chairs, and so all we had to do was renovate everything.”

 

The benefit of working in the restaurant is the fact that she already knows everyone that works for her or helped pitch in, according to Melissa, including her husband, daughters and relatives.

 

“My two daughters will be waitresses here along with some family friends,” Melissa explained. “My friends and parents have done all the work for this place. On Facebook, we’ve already reached a lot of people.”

 

Catering for her coworkers at the hospital has already been enjoyable for Melissa.

 

“We just want good, clean food at a good price and, you know, a good family atmosphere,” Melissa said. “The brewery next door is going to be open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights when we’re not open, but it won’t be open until perhaps June or July.”

 

No alcohol will be served at the Farm House once the brewery gets up and running, and Melissa said sweet tea is about as strong as they are going to get in the beverages.

 

The slogan for the restaurant is “Where Country Meets Your Mouth.” Melissa has a saying painted above one of the doorways in the facility that says, ‘Welcome: May all who enter as guests, leave as friends.’

 

“The farm thing comes from my great grandparents who just lived right across the road and we were always there and grandma was always cooking and they had a farm and farm animals,” Melissa said.

 

Although the food served won’t exactly be farm-to-table, the restaurant and atmosphere will be farm-themed.

 

The couple does plan to buy local as much as they can, though, especially with produce from the Farmer’s Market in Columbus on Saturday mornings.

 

Melissa said she wants to give credit to God for making her dream of having a big family and owning a restaurant come true.

 

“I am so very excited. My little dream of having my own restaurant is really coming true,” Melissa said. “I have prayed all along for this and God has just let it fall into place. I give all the thanks to Him.”

 

For more information on the Farm House Restaurant, visit them on Facebook and “like” it or call the facility at 828-894-0440.