No real southern town would be complete without a place to sup on some down-home, food for the soul.
The newly reopened Leland Cafe was, and is exactly that place and owner Patricia Dobbins is happy she can provide it.
“The customers really like the food,” she gleamed.
If one is in the mood for savory, Southern delights like fried catfish, smothered pork chops and chicken and dumplings, what’s not to like?
Classics like homemade burgers, chicken fried steak sandwiches and shrimp po-boys are on the menu too.
A native of West Helena, Arkansas, Dobbins is no stranger to serving up popular soul food dishes and short orders.
“I came from a line of cooks,” she said when asked about her earlier experiences with Southern cooking. “My grandmother used to be a cook for the University of Illinois and my great-grandmother owned a pool hall/restaurant in Gary, Indiana.”
She recalled her mother getting her a camper when she was about 13 years old and selling hot dogs and items of that sort from it.
Dobbins previously owned a restaurant called Jireh’s Soulfood in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and later moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas.
As fate would have it, Dobbins made the move to Greenville, where her parents reside and on Jan. 22, reopened the Leland Cafe for business.
She said she does most of the soul food cooking and prep work for the meals with her team and business has certainly been booming.
“It’s a historic restaurant, it’s been around for a hundred plus years,” Dobbins said. “And it’s the best eats and basically the second option (Leland) has for sit-in dining.”
She also highlighted the nice atmosphere of the cafe and the discounts it offers throughout the week.
On Mondays, the restaurant offers 10% off of menu items for senior citizens and kids of age 12 and under eat free with the purchase of an adult entree.
On Wednesdays, the restaurant offers 10% discounts to all frontline workers including police officers, firefighters, healthcare employees, city hall employees, as well as veterans and teachers.
Leland Cafe is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays for dine-in and takeout.
New starting this weekend, Leland Cafe will also be open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
The restaurant’s daily menu items and other information can be found on the Leland Cafe Facebook page.
