The Texas Foodie Spring 2020 | Page 40

A veggie omelet with hashbrowns at Beverly’s Country Cafe in Jacksonville. Breakfast at Beverly’s Local staple in Jacksonville STORY AND PHOTOS BY JO ANNE EMBLETON T he hearty breakfast dished up at Beverly’s Country Cafe in Jacksonville keep folks coming back for more – even years later. The McHenrys – Wayne and Rebecca – first began eating here 20-something years ago, then moved briefly to Galveston before returning home. “We travel a lot, and try to find places like Beverly’s,” he said, digging into his breakfast special plate as his wife added salsa to her breakfast burrito. “The food and the staff always brings us back.” Beverly’s, located at 1712-D S. Jackson St., opened in the late 1990s by owner Beverly Hinds as a six-day-a-week breakfast and lunch eatery. In mid-September, the restaurant changed ownership. Hinds, who retired, handed the reins to Tammy Lund- gren, a local resident and fan of the Beverly’s. “I was a customer, and I had come over here to have breakfast one day, and they were actually closed. So, I texted Beverly and asked, ‘What’s going on? Why are we closed?’ And she said she was thinking about selling. And I was like, ‘Okay, I’m interested!’ ” she laughed. Lundgren’s background as a Bullard ISD kitchen man- ager provided the experience and familiarity with food management, while her husband Todd, an accountant, handles the business aspect of Beverly’s. And, she added, “Keeping the wait staff and the menu items the same, has made it an easy transition.” 40 T H E T E X A S F O O D IE In recent years, the restaurant has been singled out in the Jacksonville Progress’s “Reader’s Choice Contest,” recognized for Best Coffee and Best Breakfast, among other categories. “The most popular item on the menu is our (fresh) cracked eggs – paired with our Applewood smoked bacon or country sausage, and our crispy hashbrowns, it makes a meal,” Lundgren said, then described the award-winning coffee as “a rich brew that keeps our customers coming back for more.” Like the McHenrys, there are a number of folks who are familiar faces at Beverly’s, drawn to the restaurant by hearty meals and wait staff that treat them like family. “More than half of our customers are loyal patrons but we also see new faces on a daily basis, and keep packing the restaurant every weekend (to a point of) filling up our second room for all to experience good comfort food,” Lundgren said. “The best thing about Beverly’s? Aside from the food? The staff is just delightful,” said Rebecca McHenry. “They are just as funny and hardworking and nice as can be.” Lundgren agreed, describing her team as an “excep- tional wait staff and the cooks are amazing! We have a hard-working dishwasher and now a weekend bus girl. “Everyone works together to give this restaurant a fun and enjoyable, not to mention flavorful, experience,” she said. “We hope that this atmosphere will bring everyone back for more.”