Sho-Nuff Soul Food

Have had lunch twice. Fish the first time, chicken the second.

Both meals were excellent. Working in the area it's great to have another option especially as good as this.

On Monday, September 29, 2014, I had lunch at Sho-Nuff Soul Food, 980 Millwood Pike, in Delco Plaza on Route 50 just east of I-81. This restaurant had opened on Wednesday, September 24, and is open every day from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM.

The phone number is (540) 773-5130. Sho-Nuff has its own parking lot accessed from the eastbound lane of Route 50, and has handicapped parking. Access is also available from the Delco Plaza parking lot.

Entrance is through a vestibule near the right end of the building. A long counter is in front of the back wall; the low section at the right end has four stools for diners. A TV screen is in this area.

The remainder of the counter is higher, and fronts the open part of the kitchen area, including a grill and its hood. Another kitchen area is in a room in the back on the right accessed from behind the counter.

The cashier's station is at the counter's left end, and is where you place your order. Sho-Nuff is essentially a carry-out operation. Your order is served in a go-box, which you pick up from the cashier, along with napkins and plastic tableware.

Seating for those who wish to eat in is via tables along the front and left walls, with windows in both locations, but there is no table service. The décor is plain, essentially white, and the room is well-lit by the large windows.

The menu lists entrees (10), Deserts (sic), Sides (12), and Drinks. The entrees range from Roast Beef and Gravy with Two Sides and Roll or Cornbread to Subs. The only seafood is Fried Fish with Two Sides, along with Shrimp and Grits.

I ordered the roast beef and gravy, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, and cornbread. They were out of cornbread, and I was offered a roll. I had lemonade for my drink.

When I picked up my foam go-box, tableware, and napkins I paid with a credit card. It was read by a smart phone with a swipe attachment, but it was not associated with a printer, and I received no credit card receipt.

The smart phone had an option to send a receipt to my E-mail address, but messed up on that part of the transaction and I waived it.

The foam box had three compartments; the largest had two tender slices of roast beef with gravy. One smaller compartment had the mashed potatoes with gravy and the other, whole kernel corn.

Both gravy servings included pieces of onion. The food was adequate but not exceptional, and may have been typical for a carryout operation.

The original occupant of 980 Millwood Pike was Winchester's first Waffle House, which was there in 2001, if not earlier; it lasted for years and my wife and I ate there frequently. It was succeeded by Gracie's Place in 2010, which was replaced by McCoy's Dairy Bar and Grill in 2011, followed by the Jamaica Diner in 2013.

I spoke to Marshall, the owner, whom I had first met several weeks ago when he was in the process of setting up the place. I asked him if this was a franchise operation, because the Internet shows a Sho'Nuff Soul Food operation in Rockdale, Texas. He said there is no connection, and his service mark is distinguished by using a hyphen in the name.

I wished him well for his new business, but told him that I hadn't realized the carryout nature of the operation, and I wasn't used to eating in from a go-box. I'll probably not be back.