When oatmeal, fruit and dining hall scrambled eggs start to blur together, take a quick drive down South Church Street to The Park, a down-home breakfast and brunch restaurant in Burlington.
The Park has been open since April 2011 and is run by the Liakos brothers. Their mother Polly cooks the most popular lunch dishes — baked chicken, sandwiches and items from the “homecooked meals” section of the menu.
The Park offers incredibly budget friendly meals, from plate-sized pancakes starting at $2.79, to combo plates that include pancakes, eggs, choice of meat and sides. A meal consisting of a large chocolate-chip pancake with bacon, hash browns and bottomless coffee totaled to around $9.
Breakfast is served all day and the brunch and lunch menus start at noon.
Tiffany Liakos, part owner and manager of the restaurant, has been with The Park since its opening and has been present for the growing pains and the successes.
“We were open for lunch and dinner only in 2011,” she said. “With the switch to breakfast, you could see a big improvement in business.”
Liakos said not too many Elon University students visit, but the restaurant has a reliable clientele of regular locals — some who stop in every day for just a cup of coffee or a meal.
Competing with similar breakfast and brunch restaurants such as Grillworx, The Park’s layout inside feels less cramped and more personal. Booths line the windows and there is also an option to sit at the bar or tables.
The parking lot is small, so when visiting for weekend breakfast it is best to think ahead and be prepared for a possible wait.
The staff members are warm and knowledgeable about the menu and are very helpful in making the difficult choice between hash browns and home fries, which as any breakfast lover knows, can make a dramatic difference.
It feels like a community gathering place and it is a refreshing change of pace with an experience that allows for a relaxing start to the day.
“I love going to The Park with my friends on the weekend,” said sophomore Lexie Nixon. “You can get a lot of really good food for an affordable price.”
The pancakes were fluffy and perfectly round, and the chocolate chips were still melting inside. For such a low price, the portions are surprisingly large and filling. They also offer more southern classics, such as grits and biscuits and gravy.
Service at times can be slow, and devoting an hour to an hour and a half of the morning to breakfast at The Park is not uncommon — but it adds to the charm of the restaurant.
The Park is located at 1610 S. Church Street, next to La Fiesta. They are open weekdays except Monday 6:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., Saturdays 6:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. and Sundays 7 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.