And Anita Spring Council opened the Cookie Bear Company last year not far from mom's place. Owner Julia Bon Smith serves a diverse menu, from BBQ to fresh trout and fried pork chops. She said the response to the restaurant, which is decorated with family portraits, has been amazing. We're just packed every night. The day we opened, there was a line out the door.
People just love the food.
We started getting regulars from the beginning. There's an old couple, at least 80 years old, who come in here every day at 4 o'clock on the nose. Her mother taught her the basics, but Smith sharpened her skills cooking at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house in Big Frat court from 1982 to 1999. A fraternity alumnus, Dan Ciprari'89 loaned money to Smith and also helped her get the loan to open up the restaurant. I told him I needed cash, and the check was in the mail two days later.