Countryside Café owners Ponder and Marlene Geren create delicious holiday spreads for customers with the help of their sons David and Daniel, standing from left. Wood-smoked ham. Sweet potato casserole. Fried turkey.
Countryside Café is diving into Christmas preparations, getting ready to host the third annual Christmas Eve buffet and catering pick-up event.
“People can come in and get the buffet while we pack up their catering orders,” says Marlene Geren, who owns and operates the restaurant with her husband Ponder and the help of their sons David and Daniel. “We cook everything, which tends to take a little more time, more labor, but we think our customers enjoy the extra effort we put into it.”
The Christmas Eve breakfast buffet begins at 7 a.m. Dec. 24 and runs through 11:45 a.m. with a selection of homemade biscuits, eggs, pancakes, ham, bacon, fruit and the Geren family’s super secret chocolate gravy. The buffet is $7.50 and Geren says it works very well as a way for guests to relax and enjoy themselves after hectic weeks of shopping and planning while the restaurant staff puts final touches on the customers’ holiday orders.
Last minute shoppers can also check a few names off their gift list at Countryside by purchasing gift cards in any denomination as stocking stuffers for family or friends. Geren says all catering orders should be made as soon as possible and must be picked up no later than noon Dec. 24.