A Coffee a Day Keeps the Grumpy Away

     I thought I was seeing things when I saw a coffee shop one day in Mount Olive. It’s such a small town and doesn’t usually have many changes. Downtown seems to only have about ½ the business that it used to when I was younger, so it appears to me. And a lot of houses and buildings are now vacant, old, or run down, but Amy Brogden had a brilliant idea when she decided to open a coffee shop close to the college and in the center of town.

Every Photo Has a Story - A Visit to Gotham's Deli

I just recently started working in Smithfield, and a new area means more chances to try new restaurants! One day on the town, I stumbled across Gotham's Deli in downtown.

Who Said You Can't Have Dessert for Breakfast

Burney’s, not to be confused with the big purple dinosaur we all loved as kids, is the new buzz around town. I had a friend suggest I check it out, and I have been wanting to get there for months. Unfortunately, I don’t live nearby (about 40 minutes), and hardly ever travel in that direction, so I would have had to make a special trip to check it out. Anyone who knows me knows that I have 0 to -0 (yeah I made that up) time to spare.  This month…I decided to make the time.

Eggscellent

One of my favorite breakfast spots is actually inside a grocery store. Crazy right!? It’s probably not so surprising if you live in or near the Kenansville area because every morning IGA Foodliner has people lined up to get breakfast.

IGA is a grocery store that has 2 locations in Duplin County. Beulaville is the second location, and both locations sell food from 7:00 am – 7:00 pm seven days a week. Leo Jackson first purchased a dry food store in 1945 which he ran for 24 years, and by 1969 he created the IGA that we know today. He ran IGA until his death. The store has continued to be in the family ever since, and is now operated by 3^rd generation David Jackson.

A Visit to Our Neighbor, Tokyo Sunrise

    This month I visited a neighbor of The Duplin Times, Tokyo Sunrise, a Hibachi-style restaurant located right in the heart of Downtown Kenansville on Center Street. It’s literally on the same block as The Duplin Times, so of course, I already had an experience with it from when I was working out of the office regularly, but surprisingly I have only eaten there once. I was catching up with a high school friend that day so I was more focused on that than judging the food.

You’ll Never Go Hungry at Country Boy Kitchen

Antonio Moore is one of the newest entrepreneurs to the town of Faison. At just 33 years old he has multiple businesses operating and even some new ones in the making, but Country Boy Kitchen is the latest talk on the street so you know I had to check it out. Faison doesn’t have a lot of options for dining out. Most people have to go to nearby towns for more options.