About an hour from Athens is a beautiful area of Middle Tennessee in Lawrence County, with its main town of Lawrenceburg. Most folks associate it with David Crockett State Park and Amish country, but I recently discovered more that I will try to share in coming posts. Just as a teaser, Congress named Lawrenceburg as the Birthplace of Southern Gospel Music because of the contributions of James Vaughan who started the shaped-notes system of music reading. Oh, boy, do I ever have thoughts about THAT!! Ha!
Anyway, we had 3 granddaughters with us last week and decided to go to Lawrence County (TN) to explore for a few hours. Many people go to the state park specifically to have lunch at Crockett’s Mill Restaurant. The view of the lake from inside is beautiful, and I’ve heard that the outside patio attracts lots of butterflies during warm weather. Diners may order from the menu or partake of the buffet. We went in to look around but weren’t quite ready for lunch right then.
Restaurant at David Crockett State Park
One of our target areas to visit was downtown Lawrenceburg. There we found Square Forty — a “meat and three” kind of place owned by a man affectionately-known as “Shine.” He was so friendly and answered our many questions. The girls chose this place for our lunch based on its great smells and homey atmosphere.
Interior of Square Forty
Decor area in Square Forty
Around the corner was a smaller place that we strongly considered, and it’s a cafe I’d love to try on my next visit — Yum on the Run. Its specialties include soups, salads, sandwiches and paninis. In addition, they have daily specials (often a pasta dish), and “yum” refers to homemade desserts. Say no more.
Yum on the Run at 106 Waterloo Street
My article about Lawrenceburg will be in this quarter’s edition of BOOM, a magazine of the Athens News Courier, due out at the end of March. Stay tuned.
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