New Southern-style restaurant in Shelby is a dream realized
At Carolina Kitchen, owners and chefs, Luis Salazar and Jennifer Bonilla, want people to taste the love in every bite.
The restaurant, which serves Southern food with a twist, opened its doors this week at 220 Campbell St. in Shelby after months of preparation by Salazar, his wife Christine, and Bonilla.
The family-style restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating and a large, varied menu that includes lunch items such as tacos, fish sandwiches, shrimp and grits, hamburger steak, fried chicken, burgers and subs. They also serve breakfast. The full menu can be found on the Carolina Kitchen Facebook page.
Salazar said they wanted to offer people plenty of choices and options that other local eateries don't have.
"It's all about the competition," he said.
He said he likes to see people enjoying the food he cooks and making people smile.
"I put pride in what I do," he said.
Salazar described Country Kitchen as country cooking with a twist and said he pulls from his Central American background to add a little Hispanic seasonings.
Originally from Guatemala, Salazar said he moved to the United States 19 years ago and worked at Wendy's before eventually moving on to bigger and better kitchens.
Bonilla, 25, said she has been cooking since she was a young child.
Salazar and Bonilla worked together in the past and around four years ago, they started talking about opening their own place. Bonilla, who was born and raised in Charlotte and still calls the Queen City home, said they eventually discovered the restaurant space on Campbell Street and decided it was just what they were looking for.
"Shelby was the place," Salazar said. "We saw potential."
They found the vacant space right below Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. It was a bakery many years ago, and last fall they began a monthslong process of cleaning and renovating it.
He said it was an emotional moment once the work was completed and they were ready to open the doors to the community. After many years of planning and months of preparations on the building, he said they shed some tears when they saw the culmination of all their dreams.
"We started from the very bottom," Salazar said.
Bonilla said she had been telling people for years she was going to open a restaurant someday.
"Now that I do have it, I want to pinch myself. I feel like I'm dreaming," she said.
Bonilla said that opening week has gone smoothly, even better than expected, and customers left with a smile and positive feedback.
"We've had a lot of good comments," Salazar said. "From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for showing us love."
Carolina Kitchen is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: New Southern-style restaurant in Shelby is a dream realized
