Chuck, Aunt Opal, Uncle Bill and I went there for breakfast during our recent Columbus visit. To look at it from the outside you would never guess the treasure this cafe is. As you can tell from the picture, this restaurant has outlasted the nearby buildings.
Here is Uncle Bill, Aunt Opal and Chuck entering Evelyn's.
Yes, the front screen door has a rip. This just adds to the ambiance.
Once inside, you see the regular customers chatting and eating. There is banter that goes on between the customers and wait staff. It doesn't take long to get absorbed into the "homey" feeling of this place.
We grabbed a booth (seat yourself) and started thinking about our breakfast.
Here is the breakfast menu.
I ordered eggs, grits and one each of their types of sausages. A biscuit and coffee rounded out the meal.
If you ask inside the cafe...who's Evelyn? Other than being the original owner, our waitress didn't know exactly. Her name was Evelyn McGuffey. I found out there have been at least two owners since Evelyn. The next owner was Queenie Sands. The current owner, Sarah Adams, has run this cafe for 37 years.
Evelyn's is a happening place starting about 11:30 am each week day. They offer a working man's lunch that is very good. Their menu consists of a choice of meat and three vegetables. Otherwise known as a "meat and three." It is not unusual during the peak serving time to have people waiting in line for a table.
They also offer their menu for "take out." During lunch time there is a steady stream of patrons picking up their home cooked meals to go.
Here is a typical lunch menu. The current day's menu is on the left and tomorrow's menu is on the right. Notice on Thursdays menu under vegetables.....macaroni and cheese. Yes sir, we treat mac and cheese as a vegetable in the south!
This is probably the most used condiment during lunch. We call it pepper sauce. It is vinegar aged in hot peppers. It is poured on peas and greens.
These are the waitresses working the morning we went to Evelyn's. They are Glenda, Kathy and Beth. The most important thing is that they are wonderful, warm people. They are important in making Evelyn's so special.
Uncle Bill treated us to breakfast.
As we left the restaurant, I noticed this sign in the window. Columbus and Jordan High Schools are the two oldest high schools in Columbus. They are celebrating their 100th football game on September 5. I wish I could be there for the fun.
If you ever get to Columbus, Georgia, this is one cafe you will not likely find in the tourist guide. It is a hometown restaurant mainly patronized by locals. But you will get a TRUE "Southern Experience" if you seek it out.
Evelyn's Cafe is located in Columbus, Georgia at 2601 Hamilton Road, near Rose Hill Seafood.
