By Jesse Wood
Blowing Rock has a new eatery in town.
Sunny Rock looks to replace Blowing Rock icons, Sonny’s Grill and Knights on Main, as a breakfast diner that is a community hangout in the village – or as chef Tim Knight said, an establishment in Blowing Rock where you can “drink coffee and solve the problems of the world” without feeling uncomfortable for taking up a table or a booth.
Sunny Rock, a breakfast and lunch diner, is a sister restaurant to Foggy Rock, which serves lunch and dinner. The two independent restaurants are located next door to each other on Valley Boulevard.
When Mi Carreta Mexican Grille closed on July 1, Foggy Rock owner Burt Myers acquired the neighboring property and immediately went to work on turning it into Sunny Rock. Knight heard about what was going on and inquired if he could work at the new establishment.
The restaurant opened last week with no advertising and little publicity. But the soft opening was anything but as word of mouth spread like wildfire through the village.
Knight, who used to work at Sonny’s Grill and owned Knights on Main, said the restaurant had 130 customers on the first day; 180 on the second day; 230 on Friday and 295 people on Saturday. Knight said people had been asking him for days when the restaurant would open.
“It seems to be embraced [by the community],” Myers added.
Knight and Myers both noted that they want Sunny Rock to be a place where people come not only for the food but for the camaraderie with the people that patron Sunny Rock.
Knight and Myers said that Sunny Rock incorporates both of Knight’s and Myers’ culinary talents and menu selections.
“It’s like diner food and Foggy Rock food with a twist all on the same menu. The omelets are little twisted, and I don’t even know how to describe it myself,” Knight said.
The most popular menu item so far, according to a Facebook post on Sunny Rock’s page, is the Crosby Still and Hash, which features pulled pork, sweet potatoes and chopped onion hash topped with fried eggs and drizzled with cilantro sour cream. The $7.95 meal is also served with fruit.
So far the online reviews have been excellent.
“We were up here for three days and ate breakfast here for two of those days. Only reason we didn’t eat the third day because they’re closed on Sunday. Pretty sure once everyone finds out about this well-kept secret it’ll be nearly impossible to get in here. Food is great service is great and the prices are amazing!!” one reviewer wrote on Facebook.
Sunny Rock is located at 8146 Valley Boulevard and is open Monday through Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. It is closed on Sunday.
For more information, click to https://www.facebook.com/sunnyrockeggs or call 828-414-9636.
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