Stone City owner learning the ropes as she goes
Staff writer
Life is funny. Sometimes we don’t know what waits for us when we make decisions.
That’s how Tammy Hinton came to own and operate Stone City Café, downtown Marion.
Hinton came from a humble beginning, bussing tables and being a dishwasher at Town & Country Café in Florence when she was just 13 years old. Eventually she began waiting tables and then found herself in the kitchen — this time as a cook.
Hinton remained as a cook at the Florence restaurant until she was 20 years old.
From there, she ventured out into the world but found herself coming back to the Florence restaurant from time to time, working as a cook.
“I’ve always wanted my own restaurant,” Hinton said, but found it difficult to purchase one being a single mother of three children.
She was working at a factory in the area when Stone City came up for sale. She contacted the local real estate agent and was told there was a potential buyer with whom she made contact.
Because of Hinton’s love for restaurant work and her desire to again be involved in food service, she assisted that new owner, helping her get the restaurant ready to be opened. She did all of this for free.
“The new owner said she wasn’t (emotionally) ready to open the restaurant. She didn’t think she could handle it,” Hinton said, “and she didn’t want to open.”
At this point, Hinton had quit her full-time job, invested much of her time and energy in preparing this restaurant, and could not walk away.
The original plan was to be open in time for Chingawassa Days, the first weekend of June.
Hinton asked the owner to consider letting her operate the restaurant with the owner remaining as owner. After much consideration, the owner decided she no longer wanted any part of the business and walked away from it.
The restaurant did not open that first weekend of June but Hinton was determined to make this work.
“I had too much invested in this not to open,” she said, “plus people were expecting it to open.”
So, on a Friday, Hinton decided the restaurant needed to open the following Tuesday. In the course of a few days, she purchased what she needed and opened the doors that Tuesday.
That was two months ago.
Business has been good. Hinton’s only complaint is finding and keeping employees.
The restaurant business is a difficult retail business because it’s hard work and typically runs on a shoestring.
“Good help is hard to find,” Hinton said. “I can’t be here all of the time so it’s important for me to find reliable help.”
The young, first-time business owner never ran a business before and is learning a lot in a short period of time, making Hinton feel a little bit out of her element.
“The rest comes natural,” she said, referring to cooking and knowing how the day-to-day operations of a restaurant.
The menu is one found in a traditional, small town restaurant. One aspect of it Hinton will continue is providing home-cooked meals that include homemade mashed potatoes and freshly baked biscuits.
“I don’t use recipes,” she said.
One part of the “home-cooked” aspect she hasn’t had time to do yet is homemade desserts.
“I just haven’t had time,” she said.
Hinton lives in Florence and is a 1997 Marion High School graduate. Her children are Daniel, 9, Ethan, 7, and Madison, 5.
She would like to move to Marion but that isn’t financially possible right now. Hinton still needs one more waitress to add to the 12 she currently has.
“Support from the community is important for me to continue to operate,” Hinton said.
There are times when it’s difficult for the small restaurant owner to know what to expect. It’s not cost effective to have a full staff working when the restaurant isn’t busy but then customers expect prompt service at a time when Hinton might be short-staffed during a typically slow time.
“It’s stressful to know all of this and accommodate everyone but I’m figuring it out,” she said.
The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
Hinton encourages customers with limited time to eat to call ahead so the food can be prepared. She also has a special lunch menu for customers in a hurry.
Life for the young entrepreneur is hectic and tiring but Hinton isn’t a quitter, at least not without giving it her all.