Garrett’s Restaurant under new ownership

Allysha Edmond and Todd Wiese new owners of Garrett’s.

For 46 years the residents of Nicholas County and beyond frequented Garrett’s Country Cookin’ Restaurant strategically located on the corner of North Broadway and Main Street on Courthouse Square at 215 North Broadway.

George and Becky Garrett ran the restaurant seven days a week serving breakfast and lunch each day. Garrett’s was the Nicholas County “hang out.” Families had breakfast there after church every Sunday, others came for lunch during the week when their “special” was served, and a group of local farmer’s came early when they opened at 5 a.m. to have breakfast to start their days.

The restaurant has been written up in regional publications extolling the great food, prices and especially their mixed berry cobbler and coconut pies. Visiting dignitaries from Frankfort often took pies home with them after attending a “lunch meeting” at Garrett’s.

When Garrett’s closed this past July, the community was in shock. According to George Garrett, he and his wife wanted more time with the grand kids, including a new one on the way. None of the kids wanted to take over the restaurant so they closed, and put the building and business up for sale.

Over the past few weeks a couple that have been operating the historic Forest Retreat Bed and Breakfast for the Dr. Phillip Tibbs family had been talking to Mr. Garrett about bringing the restaurant back. Todd Wiese already had a farm on Ox Bow Road in Nicholas County he purchased in 2010 and Allysha Edmond already lived nearby in Fairview. Once their kids finish high school they are looking to move to the farm and raise cows again and grow some of the food they serve at Forest Retreat and the restaurant. They have horses there now.

The couple saw the restaurant as one of the jewels of the community that needed to be brought back and preserved, like Forest Retreat, Lake Carnico or the Daniel Boone cabin here so … they decided to buy and re-open the Restaurant.

Wiese worked in the restaurant business in Lexington in high school and college doing maintenance and renovation for the group that owned and ran the Taco Tico restaurants in the state and some of the Pizza Huts. Together they formed and have been running Gracious Goodness Catering for the past few years. Garrett’s seemed to be a great fit.

Plans are to make upgrades to the building after they meet with inspectors to learn what needs to be done to bring the restaurant up to code. One of the things they know they will need to do is make the restrooms handicap accessible. They want to finish off the upstairs to be apartments they can rent on airbnb.com and perhaps down the line add dinner service something that Carlisle-Nicholas County is lacking enough of.

Tentative plans are to have upgrades done by the end of June and work with George Garrett to learn the “specials” that they offered in an effort to bring back Garret’s menu to be very similar to what it was before. If things go well and the community supports the “comeback” they may look at adding dinner service later.

“No one but the Garrett’s can be the Garrett’s but we’d like to bring back the service and menu that was so popular here for so many years and then grow from there. We therefore decided that we would change the name when we re-open. We think “The Carlisle” would be a good fit and something that others can continue after we decide to move on,” Todd Wiese said.

Wiese and Edmond will be lining up contractors and interviewing staff over the next few months. They can be reached at graciousgoodnesscatering@gmail.com.