"The Light is Really Special" at this 20-Farm Restaurant in Sewanee
Come join us for a most special dinner.
Food as a verb thanks
for sponsoring this series
Ask Chef Mallory Grimm about her vision for LUNCH in Sewanee, and feel how good her answer sounds.
"Connecting people with local food, building community through a sense of place and empowering local people to know their farmers," she said.
In 2022, she left Nashville and a blooming catering business - Hen of the Woods - to return to a very not-Nashville kind of place: Sewanee.
She and partner Trapp Tubbs are graduates; Mallory, from New York, found something there unlike anywhere else.
And she opened a restaurant unlike any other.
LUNCH is - in a word - fabulous. It's fabulous because it feels like a home. Fabulous because she sources the majority from regional farmers, from Monteagle to Chattanooga to Huntsville. Fabulous because of her food, which is ... well, don't just take it from us.
"A masterpiece," one guest said.
In a very short time, LUNCH has built relationships with some two dozen, if not more, farmers, making it a restaurant at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement.
Mallory's sourcing from at least 20 local farmers currently, with a menu delivered in this ever-pleasing two-fold way: tremendously, deeply relaxing matched with a tip-top-tier dedication to food and the culinary experience. Some restaurants do the first; others the second. LUNCH does them both.
That's why we're inviting you to join us there for dinner ... at LUNCH.
On Saturday, June 28, we're hosting our second opening dinner for members of The Table. You're invited to join Grimm for a five-course meal and hearty conversation in a most intimate space.
During dinner, Mallory and I will speak about the role of local food in our region and the vision we both have - for LUNCH and Food as a Verb - in supporting that.
"The dinner's going to be awesome," she said. "People can expect a really diverse menu featuring as many local farms as possible."
More info and tickets can be found here.
"Our goal is to have you feel like you're having dinner at someone's home," Mallory said. "We want you to feel really comfortable and good and have some really good conversations."
It's possible, she said, one particular farm will be featured.
"We hope to serve some bison from my friends," she said. "It will be their first round of bison they've taken to the processor after farming for nine years.
"It's really, really special to have folks in our building at night. It's really beautiful and the light is really special."
We also wanted to tell you about our first visit there. In 2023, we visited; our story then was one of our very first Food as a Verb profiles, long before many of you were part of our community.
Today, we thought we'd share it again.
Please join us on Saturday, June 28. And here's Lunch at LUNCH: One of the Most Meaningful Meals of 2023.
Yes, the food. We'll definitely talk about the food.
When you visit LUNCH in Sewanee, Tennessee, there's a good chance you'll eat one of the best meals of your year.
But even before the food arrives, something else that happens when you walk inside the intimate one-room restaurant on the edge of the University of the South's campus.
What's that line from Cheers? LUNCH feels like the place where everybody knows your name; walking in the door, you have this exhaling somatic sense of being welcomed, as if even the four walls are glad you're there.
Rich wood, soft colors, local art and people very, very happy to be there.
"It's unbelievable," said Jeff Heitzenrater, Sewanee's assistant dean of admission, who eats at LUNCH two or three times a week.
"A masterpiece," said Luke Gautier.
Once a month, Gautier drives from Nashville for lunch at LUNCH. Gautier operates Gautier and Sons Seafood; LUNCH sources its fish from him.
"I will follow [chef Mallory Grimm] up the mountain to give her fresh food and she'll turn it into a gift," he said. "You’re willing to drive one hour out of the way to eat here."
LUNCH is intentionally casual and casually outstanding. There's a good chance your food – again, very possibly one of the best meals in a long time – will be served with silverware that won't match as you sit on thrifted chairs at handmade tables.
No stuffiness. Not an ounce of pretension.
It's like the Weasley home in Harry Potter. None of the mess, but all of the warmth.
Hmm, what's the best word? Welcoming? Friendly?
"Coziness," said Mallory Grimm.
Grimm is an unassuming star chef who's redefining the way Southeast Tennessee restaurants can localize not only food, but restaurant culture.
In January 2022, she left Nashville and her thriving catering business, Hen of the Woods, to return to Sewanee, where she graduated in 2015. During COVID, she and partner Trapp Tubbs quietly made a "small country dream list" of traits: access to outdoors, a quiet home with a garden, a tight community.
One place had it all.
"Sewanee," she said.
They signed a lease on the former antique building on University Ave., got the front door keys in Sept. 2022 and LUNCH began serving five months later.
Remember: she was an ascendant chef in the Music City.
And she left it all. No one does that without faith, vision and a hell of a lot of guts.
"She could have stayed in Nashville and made a name for herself," Gautier added. "Instead, she came to Sewanee to work and create a culture."
Here's the culture she's building:
A restaurant that's as local as possible. LUNCH sources nearly all its food from local farmers.
She trains her staff to often tell customers:
We know everyone that grows everything you’re about to eat.
Thirty seats. Only open for lunch, with monthly events or dinners that always sell out. Some catering. No desire to get bigger or expand hours.
She's hired 15 students and community members – "a diversely talented, cohesive, really amazing bunch" – and more 15 would sign on if there was room. Avoiding restaurant hierarchy, Grimm posted an ideas board for everyone on the LUNCH fridge. Ever eaten at a place with unhappy staff? Not here.
Her menu changes constantly. There aren't eight different meats, but one, maybe two. Often, plates sell out. Grimm smiles.
"It's my goal to sell out," she said. "No food waste."
Don't overlook the revelation in her statement. Yes, it's delightfully relaxing, but eating at LUNCH is also an education; we, as consumers, are so used to having all we want, anytime, no restrictions. So, when we are reminded of our limitations – we're out of pork shoulder today – shifts something in us. We awaken a bit more to reality. We become humble, grateful, reconnecting to the reality of local farms where food may be abundant, but not endless.
"We source everything locally," Grimm said. "That means we have what we have."
Grimm was an environmental arts + humanities major (and lacrosse player). All of what she's attempting – from the way she treats employees to the menu to the folks who built the beautiful bar and tables – is summed up in her five words:
"A localized vision of sustainability."
Onto the food. Oh my, where to start? We'll let others go first.
"This may be the best soup I've ever had," the folks next to us said over a bowl of cauliflower soup.
We ordered a warm carrot salad with farro, halloumi, dried cherries and citrus.
And the Cove Creek kielbasa sandwich with mustard, apple relish, braised cabbage on a brioche bun.
And, for good measure, a slice of sweet potato cake with cream cheese icing. Somehow, cookies ended up on our table, also.
Grimm grew up in New York and, watching her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, can't remember a time she wasn't drawn to food.
"Since birth," she says, smiling. "I've known I was going to cook since forever."
As an undergrad at Sewanee, she'd spend summers cooking at A Bar A Ranch in Wyoming. Soon, she was named head chef, running the kitchen at 25, feeding 100 guests and 80 staff.
"I have busy hands," she said.
At LUNCH – open Wednesday through Saturday – she and sous chef Elizabeth Chandler create the menu each Tuesday. Even though there's a defined rotation – soup, salad, frittata and a lunch plate special – it's changed by Saturday morning.
We have what we have.
Every decision she makes returns to two main beliefs:
- "It’s all about the relationships. One to another. Building relationships with farmers and customers. Everyone knows each other."
- "I knew food had to be different and high caliber, but still feel welcoming no matter what."
This winter, they're already canning like crazy, creating menus out of local carrots, cabbage, mushrooms — her friends at Midway Mushrooms are the focus of an upcoming Food as a Verb feature – and kale.
We pushed away from the table, smiling and full, with only one question left.
"The name?" she said. "It's simple, direct. People know what they are getting walking in and feel comforted by being here."
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
food as a verb thanks our sustaining partner:
food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Society of Work
Shared coworking space designed with business flexibility in mind.
Ask Chef Mallory Grimm about her vision for LUNCH in Sewanee, and feel how good her answer sounds.
"Connecting people with local food, building community through a sense of place and empowering local people to know their farmers," she said.
In 2022, she left Nashville and a blooming catering business - Hen of the Woods - to return to a very not-Nashville kind of place: Sewanee.
She and partner Trapp Tubbs are graduates; Mallory, from New York, found something there unlike anywhere else.
And she opened a restaurant unlike any other.
LUNCH is - in a word - fabulous. It's fabulous because it feels like a home. Fabulous because she sources the majority from regional farmers, from Monteagle to Chattanooga to Huntsville. Fabulous because of her food, which is ... well, don't just take it from us.
"A masterpiece," one guest said.
In a very short time, LUNCH has built relationships with some two dozen, if not more, farmers, making it a restaurant at the forefront of the farm-to-table movement.
Mallory's sourcing from at least 20 local farmers currently, with a menu delivered in this ever-pleasing two-fold way: tremendously, deeply relaxing matched with a tip-top-tier dedication to food and the culinary experience. Some restaurants do the first; others the second. LUNCH does them both.
That's why we're inviting you to join us there for dinner ... at LUNCH.
On Saturday, June 28, we're hosting our second opening dinner for members of The Table. You're invited to join Grimm for a five-course meal and hearty conversation in a most intimate space.
During dinner, Mallory and I will speak about the role of local food in our region and the vision we both have - for LUNCH and Food as a Verb - in supporting that.
"The dinner's going to be awesome," she said. "People can expect a really diverse menu featuring as many local farms as possible."
More info and tickets can be found here.
"Our goal is to have you feel like you're having dinner at someone's home," Mallory said. "We want you to feel really comfortable and good and have some really good conversations."
It's possible, she said, one particular farm will be featured.
"We hope to serve some bison from my friends," she said. "It will be their first round of bison they've taken to the processor after farming for nine years.
"It's really, really special to have folks in our building at night. It's really beautiful and the light is really special."
We also wanted to tell you about our first visit there. In 2023, we visited; our story then was one of our very first Food as a Verb profiles, long before many of you were part of our community.
Today, we thought we'd share it again.
Please join us on Saturday, June 28. And here's Lunch at LUNCH: One of the Most Meaningful Meals of 2023.
Yes, the food. We'll definitely talk about the food.
When you visit LUNCH in Sewanee, Tennessee, there's a good chance you'll eat one of the best meals of your year.
But even before the food arrives, something else that happens when you walk inside the intimate one-room restaurant on the edge of the University of the South's campus.
What's that line from Cheers? LUNCH feels like the place where everybody knows your name; walking in the door, you have this exhaling somatic sense of being welcomed, as if even the four walls are glad you're there.
Rich wood, soft colors, local art and people very, very happy to be there.
"It's unbelievable," said Jeff Heitzenrater, Sewanee's assistant dean of admission, who eats at LUNCH two or three times a week.
"A masterpiece," said Luke Gautier.
Once a month, Gautier drives from Nashville for lunch at LUNCH. Gautier operates Gautier and Sons Seafood; LUNCH sources its fish from him.
"I will follow [chef Mallory Grimm] up the mountain to give her fresh food and she'll turn it into a gift," he said. "You’re willing to drive one hour out of the way to eat here."
LUNCH is intentionally casual and casually outstanding. There's a good chance your food – again, very possibly one of the best meals in a long time – will be served with silverware that won't match as you sit on thrifted chairs at handmade tables.
No stuffiness. Not an ounce of pretension.
It's like the Weasley home in Harry Potter. None of the mess, but all of the warmth.
Hmm, what's the best word? Welcoming? Friendly?
"Coziness," said Mallory Grimm.
Grimm is an unassuming star chef who's redefining the way Southeast Tennessee restaurants can localize not only food, but restaurant culture.
In January 2022, she left Nashville and her thriving catering business, Hen of the Woods, to return to Sewanee, where she graduated in 2015. During COVID, she and partner Trapp Tubbs quietly made a "small country dream list" of traits: access to outdoors, a quiet home with a garden, a tight community.
One place had it all.
"Sewanee," she said.
They signed a lease on the former antique building on University Ave., got the front door keys in Sept. 2022 and LUNCH began serving five months later.
Remember: she was an ascendant chef in the Music City.
And she left it all. No one does that without faith, vision and a hell of a lot of guts.
"She could have stayed in Nashville and made a name for herself," Gautier added. "Instead, she came to Sewanee to work and create a culture."
Here's the culture she's building:
A restaurant that's as local as possible. LUNCH sources nearly all its food from local farmers.
She trains her staff to often tell customers:
We know everyone that grows everything you’re about to eat.
Thirty seats. Only open for lunch, with monthly events or dinners that always sell out. Some catering. No desire to get bigger or expand hours.
She's hired 15 students and community members – "a diversely talented, cohesive, really amazing bunch" – and more 15 would sign on if there was room. Avoiding restaurant hierarchy, Grimm posted an ideas board for everyone on the LUNCH fridge. Ever eaten at a place with unhappy staff? Not here.
Her menu changes constantly. There aren't eight different meats, but one, maybe two. Often, plates sell out. Grimm smiles.
"It's my goal to sell out," she said. "No food waste."
Don't overlook the revelation in her statement. Yes, it's delightfully relaxing, but eating at LUNCH is also an education; we, as consumers, are so used to having all we want, anytime, no restrictions. So, when we are reminded of our limitations – we're out of pork shoulder today – shifts something in us. We awaken a bit more to reality. We become humble, grateful, reconnecting to the reality of local farms where food may be abundant, but not endless.
"We source everything locally," Grimm said. "That means we have what we have."
Grimm was an environmental arts + humanities major (and lacrosse player). All of what she's attempting – from the way she treats employees to the menu to the folks who built the beautiful bar and tables – is summed up in her five words:
"A localized vision of sustainability."
Onto the food. Oh my, where to start? We'll let others go first.
"This may be the best soup I've ever had," the folks next to us said over a bowl of cauliflower soup.
We ordered a warm carrot salad with farro, halloumi, dried cherries and citrus.
And the Cove Creek kielbasa sandwich with mustard, apple relish, braised cabbage on a brioche bun.
And, for good measure, a slice of sweet potato cake with cream cheese icing. Somehow, cookies ended up on our table, also.
Grimm grew up in New York and, watching her mother and grandmother in the kitchen, can't remember a time she wasn't drawn to food.
"Since birth," she says, smiling. "I've known I was going to cook since forever."
As an undergrad at Sewanee, she'd spend summers cooking at A Bar A Ranch in Wyoming. Soon, she was named head chef, running the kitchen at 25, feeding 100 guests and 80 staff.
"I have busy hands," she said.
At LUNCH – open Wednesday through Saturday – she and sous chef Elizabeth Chandler create the menu each Tuesday. Even though there's a defined rotation – soup, salad, frittata and a lunch plate special – it's changed by Saturday morning.
We have what we have.
Every decision she makes returns to two main beliefs:
- "It’s all about the relationships. One to another. Building relationships with farmers and customers. Everyone knows each other."
- "I knew food had to be different and high caliber, but still feel welcoming no matter what."
This winter, they're already canning like crazy, creating menus out of local carrots, cabbage, mushrooms — her friends at Midway Mushrooms are the focus of an upcoming Food as a Verb feature – and kale.
We pushed away from the table, smiling and full, with only one question left.
"The name?" she said. "It's simple, direct. People know what they are getting walking in and feel comforted by being here."
Story ideas, questions, feedback? Interested in partnering with us? Email: david@foodasaverb.com
This story is 100% human generated; no AI chatbot was used in the creation of this content.
Food as a verb thanks our story sponsor:
Food as a Verb Thanks our sustaining partner:
Shared coworking space designed with business flexibility in mind.
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