![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Ohy4uRzk-1-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPaige brought in a local contractor who tore down paneling in the outdated building to expose original red brick walls and beautiful tin ceilings. She wanted their restaurant to look like Gower\u2019s Drugstore from \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to have a place where there were family recipes [and] casual dining, where people could come sit down and enjoy one another.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a strong pitch to the mayor and city officials, the city of Tullahoma awarded the shop a loan through the Urban Development Action Grant Program (UDAG) to cover half the cost of the renovations. UDAG aims to help physically or economically distressed cities grow and evolve through new businesses and community initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve really been backed by the City of Tullahoma from the very beginning, which is something I\u2019m very proud of,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They broke ground on renovations in January 2019 and had their grand opening in May 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since its inception, it was important to Paige that the Sundrop Shoppe give back to the Tullahoma community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne thing I take a lot of pride in is that we are very involved in community affairs,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the shop, you can buy granola from Blue Monarch, a local nonprofit that employs, houses, and supports women and children in situations of domestic abuse, addiction, and poverty. The restaurant employs people from Skills Development Services, a local nonprofit that helps encourage and employ individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. All of their unused food goes to Shepherd’s House, a nonprofit that provides food, clothing, and housing to local homeless communities. Their gelato comes from Legacy Creamery, whose profits go to the Eli Grow Legacy Foundation to help fund the proposed Memorial Athletic Complex at Tullahoma High School. The produce used at the Sundrop Shoppe is locally sourced, and they also serve Tennessee Pride sausage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just think it\u2019s important to be involved, and I think a lot of people aren\u2019t aware of some of the agencies and programs we have here in Tullahoma,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s nice to be able to plug them a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The restaurant serves all Prescott family recipes, and if you look at a menu you\u2019ll find several family names. The chicken salad is named \u201cAunt ME\u2019s chicken salad,\u201d because Paige\u2019s Aunt ME always told her she \u201ccould make chicken salad out of anything.\u201d The pimento cheese sandwich, \u201cGranddaddy\u2019s pimento cheese,\u201d is named after Paige\u2019s father, a \u201cpimento cheese connoisseur and purist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne time I tried to put onion in the pimento cheese, and you would have sworn I committed a mortal sin,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the kids\u2019 menu, you can order \u201cClay\u2019s PB & jelly,\u201d named in honor of Paige\u2019s late brother, who was a very finicky eater, and \u201cPaige\u2019s award-winning white chicken chili,\u201d that has won chili cook-offs in both Indiana and Tennessee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an intercontinental dish,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s really popular, and it amazes me that we sell just as much white chicken chili in the summer as in the dead of winter.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked what her favorite dish is, Paige chuckled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChoosing my favorite dish is kind of like choosing my favorite child, because they\u2019re all my recipes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their most popular dishes are the slow-cooked French dip, pancakes, and chicken salad. In 2020, the restaurant added scratch-made breakfast menu items available all day, and it\u2019s been a huge success, even through the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe made it through the pandemic, so I think we\u2019ll be ok, but it has been really difficult and continues to be difficult to keep our head above water,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the reason we\u2019re still alive is because of the dedication of our employees and the community support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the peak of COVID-19, customers were still ordering carryout. They showed up for the Sundrop Shoppe in a way that Paige didn\u2019t always expect.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have a lot of repeat business [and] a lot of regulars, but every day I walk into the restaurant and see people I\u2019ve never seen before,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s so fun to see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paige\u2019s children work in the restaurant \u2013 her daughter waiting tables and working in the kitchen; her son doing dishes \u2013 becoming the 5th generation of Prescotts to contribute to the family legacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s really fun to have found a way to incorporate my two favorite things in the world: food and people,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve found a way to call it \u2018work\u2019.\u201d GN<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tullahoma’s Sundrop Shoppe is a lunch counter similar to Gower’s Drugstore in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with exposed brick walls and a beautiful tin ceiling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":6856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-6854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-november"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC_3574-1024x682.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/DSC_3525-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n