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Repurposing a small town grocery into a place of community with great food
Café on the Corner is a cool and comfortable restaurant that is nestled atop Lookout Mountain, and stands as one of Chattanooga’s optimum dining establishments. They offer an extensive wine and beer menu that supports many local winery and brewing companies, and frequently utilizes local produce, meats, and goods. All the seafood that they offer is domestic, and it only comes from geographically specific locations such as Mahi from Hawaii.
Owner Ruth Oehmig, and her son Chef Sven Lindroth have created a food menu influenced by classical French food, and infused it with southern comfort food; it is considered southern comfort food redefined. Executive Chef JR Crutcher creates daily specials and brings the southern flare with him.
The inside setting has a warm, welcoming and relaxed atmosphere, with a lounge/bar area, and a fireplace for people to gather around to blend. The outside patio area provides an additional outdoor fireplace, and a light, easy area that is a perfect place to unwind at the end of the day. Its comfortable environment and the inimitable menu makes it a local favorite, and regionally traveled to restaurant.
Though the menu is full of delightful items, the meatloaf is a standout dish. It is made with mirepoix, beef and pate, giving it a very different and flavorful taste. Other crowd pleasers are the Candied Pecan Salad, Cornmeal Crusted Flounder, Red Beans and Rice, Fried Green Tomato BLT, and the Shrimp and Grits that is made with chorizo, andouille sausage, peppers and onions.
Café of the Corner has made some significant local ties with their consummate customer service, delicious food, and efforts to help to strengthen the community through fundraisers and events. They recently finished a fundraiser for the local volunteer firefighters, and they currently have teamed up with the Chattanooga Brewing Company, and the two groups are working on a fundraiser focusing on helping the Community Kitchen.
A beer is being brewed specifically for Café on the Corner, and all the proceeds from the beer will be given to the Community Kitchen. These are just a couple of examples of the many things that they do for the community in terms of attempting to fortify and unite it.
After a fire devastated Café on the Corner in 2014, they had an uphill battle to face in order to get their restaurant back in functioning order. Roughly a year and a half after the disaster struck, they were open for business once again, and fulfilling passion, and the area taste buds.
Oehmig said that while the business was being rebuilt, the regulars would frequently ask her to make them the meatloaf that they had grown so fond of. She said she normally would oblige the request.
The bar area has just recently kicked off a line of seasonal specialty drinks, and a daily happy hour from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Café on the Corner offers on and off site private parties, as well as executive lunches, and catering. They also offer Thanksgiving services for those that are simply too busy to cook for the holidays.
This lively and zealous establishment is lighting up the lives of people all over Chattanooga, and is more than worth the ten-minute drive up the mountain to visit it.