New Southern-style restaurant lands in high-traffic area of Columbus, has a drive-thru

A restaurant that serves Southern-style cooking ranging from fried chicken and smothered pork chops to meatloaf and salmon croquets has landed at St. Francis Marketplace on Woodruff Road in Columbus.

Reese’s Kitchen, a sister eatery to Girlfriend’s Catering and Restaurant on Fifth Avenue in Phenix City, had a soft opening on Monday and is planning its grand opening and ribbon cutting on Tuesday.

“It’s a great location. It’s very high traffic,” said Steve Argo, who owns both Reese’s Kitchen and Girlfriend’s. “We’re right here on Manchester, straight across from St. Francis (Hospital), where a lot of our clientele for catering was already at ... We cater to anybody, but a lot of drug reps go over here to St. Francis. We knew that we could get a pretty good clientel here, and also The Yogurt Shoppe used to kill it over here. They were here forever, so I know it’s a good location.”

The homestyle-cooking eatery, which seats 50 but also has a drive-thru window for on-the-go customers, is located at 4519 Woodruff Road, Suite 20. That’s where The Yogurt Shoppe Cafe, a popular eatery, operated for nearly three decades before closing abruptly in November 2016. A restaurant called Dixie Kwik opened at the location a year ago, but did not gain a following.

Reese’s Kitchen will be open every day except Saturday, with a rotating menu each Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays. The menu also will feature popular Southern foods such as country-fried steak, beef tips, chicken and dumplings and stuffed bell pepper.

Although it has been open only a few days, the restaurant is generating favorable reviews from customers on its Facebook page. “Love the atmosphere. The service was amazing! Good food & good people - my kind of place,” posted Sydney Summers Hancock.

“Food was delicious, staff was awesome! My new favorite spot,” Denise Guthrie commented, while Pam Morris-Bryant Vachon reported that “5 people from my office ordered and everyone was very pleased with their orders. The food was awesome!”

Argo said the new restaurant will take catering orders. However, they will be fulfilled by the Girlfriend’s Catering business in Phenix City.

This story was originally published May 23, 2018 at 5:31 PM with the headline "New Southern-style restaurant lands in high-traffic area of Columbus, has a drive-thru."