Your southern nana will approve of Mason’s Restaurant & Grocery — the downtown Aberdeen eatery that’s opening on Jan. 14. Mason’s Restaurant & Grocery will serve up what owner Brian Hainley calls “modern, southern comfort food.”
Named after Brian’s son, Mason’s Restaurant & Grocery will be open for breakfast and lunch, with a special brunch menu on the weekend.
From pimento cheese to Nashville hot chicken, the menu boasts all of your southern favorites and then some, plus twists on the classics. They’ll also offer up some seasonal menu items.
“We noticed there wasn’t really a place like this in the area that isn’t your typical greasy spoon restaurant,” Brian said.
So basically, the biscuits are homemade, the gravy doesn’t come from a can the size of your head, and there’ll be some “lighter” options on the menu.
You’ll also find a grocery section with homemade jams, butters, pickles hot sauces and more, as well as sassy southern saying t-shirts and stickers.
Oh, and they’ll also be serving local beers, seasonal cocktails and four different kinds of mimosas. Yes, we said four.
Brian, who considers himself a southern food enthusiast, has roots in the local food scene and the Nashville food scene. He attended the Culinary Institute of America before owning a restaurant in Nashville. He also owned Cafe Sonoma in Southern Pines.
After a three-year-long search for a location for Mason’s, Brian settled on the former home of Double Eagle Grill & Bar on N. Sycamore St. in Aberdeen, though the spot came with a few challenges that pushed its original open date from Dec. 17 to Jan. 14.
“We really went down to the studs in this building,. There was a lot of neglect and we tried our best to bring it back to what it once was,” Brian said.
Mason’s Restaurant & Grocery will be open Tuesday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am. until 3 p.m. Check them out on Facebook to get updates — or peek at the menu here.
