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Norris and Kyra Jarretts run their restaurant (with help from daughter Callie) just feet away from an active rail line.
Photo by Milton Morris
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The inside view of the beautifully restored train depot.
Photo by Milton Morris
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Ritz cracker pie
Photo by Milton Morris
A charming little train depot sits smack in the center of tiny Branchville, like the bull’s-eye of a target.
People aim for this spot, a destination point for hungry diners within a 30-mile radius. They travel two-lane country roads, past rural landscapes, occasional fast-food joints and chain restaurants closer to home, to savor the traditional Lowcountry fare at The Eatery at the Depot.
This spot in Orangeburg County has attracted attention for centuries—first as a settlement where an Indian trail branched off toward Charleston; later as a railroad junction (first in the world, locals say) on the historic Charleston-to-Hamburg rail line. At least four U.S. presidents stopped at Branchville’s train depot, three to eat in its old dining room.
Nowadays, the main attraction here is the generous servings of fried seafood and American standards, served in a quaint depot setting.
“It’s just nice to be able to provide for the community a place where they can sit down and have a nice meal,” says Eatery owner and chef Norris Jarrett.
Jarrett saw that Branchville needed a new restaurant soon after arriving here some 20 years ago. He grew up a foodie, in the kind of family where “while we were eating breakfast, we wondered what we would have for lunch and dinner.” He briefly studied hotel and restaurant management at the University of South Carolina before venturing off to work in restaurants in Columbia and Charleston. He and wife Kyra met in a Charleston restaurant, where she tended bar and he waited tables; they moved to Branchville, her hometown, when they married.
When he opened The Eatery in August 2004 in the restored depot, Jarrett followed the best advice of his restaurant mentors: “Keep it simple.”
The bulk of his menu is lightly breaded and fried fresh fish, but the grilled pork tenderloin also draws raves. Thursday is the only night you can get shrimp and grits; slow-roasted prime rib is the special on Fridays and Saturdays. Side dishes are recipes passed down from family and friends, including the Charleston red rice with two kinds of sausage, Norris’ great grandmother’s cheesy squash casserole, and the star of the dessert case, Kyra’s mother’s strawberry cream cake. It’s food with the comfort of good home cooking: baby limas, buttered carrots, sauces rich with butter and heavy cream.
“That’s just the way I was brought up,” Jarrett says. “It’s probably not that health conscious, but we’re only open three nights a week—they’re on their own the other four nights!”
Regulars have been known to show up twice in one weekend. They love the food and the on-site entertainment—the trains that still rumble past the depot several times a day, rattling windows and drowning out conversation.
“That just fascinates people; sometimes they scream,” Jarrett says, laughing.
But do the customers appreciate that noisy interruption?
“Oh, heck yeah, are you kidding?” Jarrett says. “If I could get another 50 cents out of everybody who liked every time a train came by, I’d have a heck of a stash built up!”
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Ritz Cracker pie
SERVES 8
4 egg whites
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup chopped pecans
28 Ritz crackers, crumbled
Sweetened fresh whipped cream
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites together lightly; add baking powder and almond extract. Gradually add sugar and beat at medium-high speed until peaks are formed. Fold in pecans and crumbled Ritz crackers. Put into well-greased 9-inch pie pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30–35 minutes. Let cool completely. Cover with fresh whipped cream and refrigerate.
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The Eatery at the Depot
7501 Freedom Road, Branchville | (803) 274-8001 | facebook.com/EateryAtTheDepot
Hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 6 to 9 p.m.