March 6, 2008 issue
Our Daily Bread Renovations Coming To A Close
Restaurant Opens Next Week
Story by Sam Calhoun
“This is our dream,” said Jen Parker, co-owner of Our Daily Bread, speaking about the renovations taking place at the restaurant located at 627 West King Street.
For the last two weeks, one of Boone’s most popular eateries has been stripped down to its bones and built again from the ground up. According to co-owner Sam Parker, Our Daily Bread will reopen to the public at the beginning of next week.
Having bought the restaurant business in 1998, the Parkers always wanted to take down the acoustic ceilings, rearrange the restaurant and expose the original walls. Once they bought the building roughly one year ago, the Parkers had the chance to make the changes they wanted. Along with general contractor Steve Figlow of Blue Ridge Insulated Concrete Construction, the couple started demolition on President’s Day 2008.
The Parkers, who lived in architecturally rich Athens, Ga. before moving to the High Country, wanted to restore the building to how it looked when it was built in 1935 with the original brick walls and stamped tin ceiling.
“We’re going back to the turn of the century,” said Sam. “It’s our concept. It’s the way the building is supposed to be.”
“We revived the whole building,” said Jen.
In addition to the period restoration, the restaurant now features a seamless recycled PVC floor that is antibacterial and antimicrobial, an effort by the Parkers to make Our Daily Bread as sanitary as possible. The Parkers also added new kitchen appliances and a POS computer system for the wait staff.
One of the biggest additions, though, is the new custom-designed bar. Designed by Ryan Jorgenson, the bar is constructed of 120-year-old poplar, 90-year-old maple, heart pine and cherry, and its length spans the area from the former counter to the beer coolers. And speaking of beer, all 30 of Our Daily Bread’s bottled beers are returning, with the addition of 6 beers on tap. The draft beers will include Wolaver’s, Terrapin and others.
“The bar is amazing,” said Sam.
When renovations are completed, Our Daily Bread will feature longer hours. The restaurant will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. seven days a week, perhaps even later on select nights, said Sam. While Our Daily Bread’s food menu will stay, the Parkers are adding a bar menu.
“We wanted to create a great restaurant with a great bar. We feel like downtown [Boone] could use another good watering hole,” said Jen.
“It’s going to be cozier in here—a place I’d want to come and be if I was living in the High Country,” said Sam.
“As a consumer, I’d want to come here,” added Jen.
To be more eco-friendly, the Parkers are doing away with their trademark baskets and wax paper and opting for washable glass plates. They also added hand dryers in the bathrooms to reduce waste and will compost food scraps to feed to local pigs.
As in the past, Our Daily Bread will feature the work of local and regional artists. To start out, the art of Wendy Warren and Adam Carlos will adorn the walls, along with black and white photographs of early Boone.
For more information, call 828-264-0173.
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