The road that connects the towns of Ducktown and Copperhill, Tennessee to McCaysville, Georgia, was once a place where food choices were limited to a diner or two. Times, though, have changed, and so has this area where the two states come together. Known as the Copper Basin, for its copper-mining history, the area now offers an international smorgasbord of palate-pleasing choices.
“I think we’ve evolved into a tourist area, but it’s still so quaint and comfortable here,” says McCaysville native Nancy Swanson, manager at the local Katz’s Deli. “We still have a lot of small-town charm.”
There’s no “Welcome to Georgia” sign as you travel south along Highway 68 from Polk County in Tennessee into Fannin County in the Peach State. There’s no obvious marker delineating the state line. Ask, though, and you’ll be told it runs through the middle of the parking lot at the local Hometown Foods IGA grocery store in the center of town.
The best way to enter the cities, whether you come from north, south, east or west, is to come on an empty stomach and get ready for a feast of flavors. The Tennessee-Georgia is a line you’ll want to cross again and again.
Katz’s New York Deli