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Tonya’s Country Kitchen opens new location in Williamstown

Tonya Pelphrey, the owner of Tonya’s Country Kitchen in Marietta and Williamstown, has made all her restaurant dreams come true. (Photo by Jenna Pierson)

WILLIAMSTOWN — An enthusiastic young waitress pops her head in the office door and exclaims that her table has just informed her that the hot fudge cake was the best they had ever had and that they will certainly be back for more.

Tonya Pelphrey, the owner of Tonya’s Country Kitchen on Front Street in Marietta and her newest location in the old Dutch Pantry building in Williamstown, chuckled and expressed her excitement.

“It’s homemade, yeah, it’s good,” Pelphrey said.

Pelphrey’s journey to becoming a restaurant owner began when she opened her Marietta location in 2015, after years of saving through her job of medical billing and decades of dreams to do so that began in her childhood.

“My mom always took us to sit-down, local places and my mom was a really good cook and her mother was too, and we always had sit-down dinners at home,” Pelphrey said. “Then all that went away, and I thought ‘wouldn’t that be great if we had something like that?'”

Pelphrey had been to culinary school, and once she chose to take advantage of the vacant space for her first location on Front Street, she never looked back.

“It took every dime that I had,” Pelphrey said. “I saved my paychecks and I got my income tax and I put every dime in it.”

Pelphrey expressed her deep appreciation for the fact that she has never been financially in trouble with her business thus far.

In late 2020, The Dutch Pantry, which was a popular stop for locals, closed its doors.

“There was a waitress that worked at The Dutch Pantry for years … she called me and told me ‘Tonya this is coming up for sale,'” Pelphrey said. “I thought ‘Oh my goodness, I have to be the first one.'”

Pelphrey closed with realtors on March 19, and renovations and repairs took place until the grand opening of the location on May 4.

“I can’t believe everything worked out, it’s a blessing,” Pelphrey said. “We have double occupancy compared to Marietta.”

The turnout on May 4 resulted in Pelphrey having to close her Marietta location for the evening and bring the cook, servers and even friends to Williamstown to assist.

From open faced roast beef and lasagna to burgers and breakfast food, Tonya’s Country Kitchen’s menu aligns similarly with what was previously offered at The Dutch Pantry.

“There’s a lot of customers that are devoted to The Dutch Pantry, so we thought we would try what was popular with them and carry that on,” Pelphrey said. “We are gonna add some more, there was a dressing that The Dutch Pantry had that was very popular and the owners were very nice to give me that recipe.”

With a smile on her face, Pelphrey stressed the importance of shopping and eating local, citing her efforts to buy local and support other area businesses as often as she can.

“You need to support your town or city,” Pelphrey said. “Marietta is beautiful … they do everything they can to keep local businesses. I also love Williamstown … you have to keep the little guys going, I mean, that’s how I support my family.”

Tonya’s Country Kitchen is open 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. in both Marietta and Williamstown. For the Marietta location, please call 740-371-5027. For the Williamstown Location, please call 304-850-4078.

Jenna Pierson can be reached at jpierson@newsandsentinel.com

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