Strawberry season in on display in the sweets at Cookie Jar Cafe. (Photos by Mark Gilliland)More Info
COOKIE JAR CAFEAddress: 1887 Kelly Cross Road in DunlapHours: 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Tuesday-Saturday; 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT Sunday; closed MondayPhone: 423-949-5852
Nobody is more aware of the seasons than a farmer.
“It feels like spring has skipped us,” said Sue Ann Lockhart, owner of Dunlap’s Cookie Jar Cafe, located on the working Johnson family farm.
But the sudden onset of summer has its advantages — namely, strawberries are already ripe.
“Local strawberries are coming in little by little,” said Sue Ann.
The cafe is famous for its berry-filled desserts: strawberry cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, strawberry torte and, most of all, fresh strawberry cake, made with hunks of chopped fruit, smeared with cream cheese icing and bursting with the fresh flavors of summer.
Still, it technically is not yet officially summer. In fact, it is not even unofficial summertime, which begins each year on Memorial Day.
“Although we won’t be open on Memorial Day, we will be taking reservations for that weekend,” Sue Ann said. “Burgers, burgers and more burgers will be the special that weekend.”
The cafe’s variety of burger specials will include bacon cheeseburgers and barbecue burgers. And while diners wait for a table, Sue Ann suggests they check out the farm.
“Our petting zoo and porch seating are both open in full swing,” she said. “Maybe we will still get a small taste of spring!”