Chattanooga Has Fun 2.5

826 Scenic Highway
Lookout Mountain, TN 37350
Phone: 423-825-5005
Website: Cafe on the Corner

Just up Ochs Highway and a short jog down Scenic Highway into Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, you’ll arrive at Café on the Corner.  There is very little signage on the quaint white building, but trust me—one visit and you’ll find your way back again and again.

Upon entering Café on the Corner, you immediately feel welcome. Whether it’s the enormous stone fireplace or the smells of Southern cooking emanating from the kitchen, who’s to say—but it’s definitely there, the feeling that comes over you when you’ve found a special place.  You know the feeling—you’re so glad you’ve found it and thrilled to be there, but can’t wait to leave and tell everyone you know about it.

There is much history in the building that houses Café on the Corner.   “It was originally a grocery store,” says owner Ruth Oehmig.  “Everyone up here remembers, especially folks in their 80s and 90s, coming here as a little kid.  It had a pot-bellied stove and an old-fashioned candy counter.” After the grocery closed, Mrs. Oehmig’s aunt purchased the building and opened an antique store.  She later sold the space to a cousin-by-marriage, who opened the location’s first restaurant.   At that time, the fireplace was added as well as the patio.  After the closing of that restaurant, the building passed through a few more owners, each adding their own touches—some not as appealing as others.  “We came in and I saw the bones, the architectural, just the inherent beauty of the place.  It had been kind of patched and re-patched,” says Ruth Oehmig. She decided to gut the building.

With the help of The Strauss Company, she and executive chef Sven Lindroth restored Café on the Corner to its genuine beauty.  Under layers of sheetrock, they discovered gorgeous brick walls, and found incredible hardwood floors beneath linoleum.  While Mrs. Oehmig focused on the dining area, Lindroth was busy creating his perfect kitchen.  Once the renovations were complete, Mission-style tables and chairs were brought in and covered with linen tablecloths, a gorgeous breakfront came to rest in a corner close to the gracious, welcoming fireplace, and slow-turning fans gently moved the air.

While the ambiance alone is worth the trip up Lookout Mountain, once you arrive and taste the delightful fare so lovingly created by Chef Lindroth, you’ll never want to leave.  Lindroth has cooked in such places as Chicago, New Orleans, Jamaica, and Charleston, where he attended the acclaimed Johnson & Wales University and received an advanced degree, graduating summa cum laude.  Lindroth brings a taste of each of these places to the kitchen of Café on the Corner.  He combines these ethnic flavors with good ol’ Southern cookin’ learned at his grandfather’s and mother’s sides.   You’ll find such tempting appetizers as pork sliders, served on basil thyme biscuits with pickles and a blue cheese slaw, or Lindroth’s take on a Southern classic—fried green tomatoes.  Café on the Corner serves panko breaded green tomatoes drizzled with a basil aioli sauce and sweet pepper jelly.

There’s tomato tart served with arugula and bacon jam, and a blend of South meets way West… spring rolls filled with collard greens, smoked pork, corn, red pepper, red onion and served with a sweet mustard sauce, reminiscent of South Carolina BBQ sauce.  Why, a person could just eat appetizers and have a fabulous meal!  But then you’d be missing out on other amazing dishes like Lindroth’s Flat Iron Steak, cooked in a red wine demi-glace and served with cheddar potato gratin and asparagus, or a local favorite, comfort food at its finest, Café Meatloaf, served with thyme brown gravy, mac n’ cheese, honey-glazed carrots and blue cheese slaw, or the must-try Shrimp and Grits, Lindroth’s own recipe that has been published in Nathalie Dupree’s Shrimp and Grits Cookbook.

Whatever you choose to eat, the experience is sure to be pleasing.  Trust me, once you traverse the mountain and find yourself seated at Café on the Corner, you’ll know you’ve found a special place, and you’ll tell everyone you know.

Café on the Corner, 826 Scenic Highway, Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. Open for lunch and dinner, Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (423) 825-5005.