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BY NIC MILLER
STAR STAFF
nic.miller@elizabethton.com

One of the many things that Carter County has been known for years are the local restaurants that can be found in the area. From standalone establishments like Ridgewood to slightly larger chains such as Pal’s Sudden Service, there is no shortage of great food in Northeast Tennessee.

And there may soon be another local favorite for the citizens of Carter County as Libby’s Lodge plans to begin serving the community later this month.

The establishment, a recent venture by members of the community Jamie and Donald Campbell, was scheduled to open on the first of July this year, but due to complications the grand opening has been pushed back towards the end of August.

The couple has had their eyes on opening a restaurant of their own for quite some time, with Jamie saying, “I have worked in the food industry all of my life, and I have worked in any kind of dining experience you can think of.

“I have always sat back and thought about opening my own restaurant, and thought about what it would be like to have a place of my own.”

And while it was something that Jamie had dreamed of, it came as a surprise to her when she found out that she would be able to own her own establishment.

Donald spoke about his element of surprise with the restaurant, saying, “I knew that it was a dream of hers, so I told her I was fixing this building up for a friend of ours, when in reality I was setting this building up to become a restaurant.”

When choosing the name for a business or idea, it is always best to put major thought into it, which is what happened with the Campbells’ establishment.

“We were going to name it ‘The Lodge’ but did not want it confused with a hotel, so in the end we added on to that and named it after our black lab Libby and decided on ‘Libby’s Lodge’.”

The restaurant will specialize in homestyle food, serving breakfast, wraps, hamburgers, pulled pork, etc. and is located at 509 Broad Street in Elizabethton, across the street from El Charolais.

And while right now there is only a time frame of when the restaurant is set to begin serving delicious food, an official date will hopefully be out to the community in the coming weeks.