Oates Community Grocery & Grill has new owner

Martha Bowling of Oates always wanted a restaurant all her own, and now she has it. She recently reopened Oates Community Grocery & Grill on Oates Highway (S.C. 403).

“It’s been something I’ve always wanted to do, have my own restaurant with home-cooked food,” she said.

She recently managed the Huddle House in Bishopville and the Shoney’s in Lugoff before that. The other two cooks, Frances Jackson and Calvin Duffy, have been in the restaurant business for more than 20 years each. She worked with them at Huddle House in Bishopville and brought them with her to Oates.

After more than 27 years working for someone else, Bowling took the plunge.

Before her husband was killed nearly three years ago in Dallas, he told her, “You need to open your own restaurant.”

Both of her children echoed that sentiment.

“‘Why work 120 hours for someone else?’ they would say to me,” Bowling said.

She took that opportunity last month with some sadness.

“[My husband’s] death has helped me fulfill my dream,” said Bowling. “It’s hard because we’re still trying to find out who did it.”

All her family lives in Oates, except her son who is a police officer in Kershaw County, and all have been supportive of her entrepreneurship. Her daughter, an accountant, even helps with the books.

The store sells soda, snack cakes, crackers and cigarettes but no alcohol.

“We’re hoping we can provide a nice family environment,” said Bowling.

Jackson and Bowling collaborate on the recipes to create the daily home-cooked specials, one of the restaurant’s most popular items.

“We have a great turnout for lunch with specials every day,” said Bowling.

The restaurant also offers sandwiches, burgers, pork chops, fried chicken, wings, sweet potato fries, onion rings as well as breakfast.

“People like to sleep in, so we’ll serve breakfast nearly all day on Saturday,” said Bowling.

The establishment has a back room for meetings. The Lydia Fire Department has used the facility once already, and Bowling has only been open for three weeks.

She is installing satellite television so people have a place to watch sports as well.

Bowling plans to do more too.

For Halloween, the backroom will be turned into a haunted house for children.

The restaurant is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Info: (843) 383-5354