Guests were often greeted and seated by owner Todd Antrobus, along with team members who recited the day's available menu items and options without menus. Antrobus said he came in early to get the deli's meats and cheeses ready for the slicer, and soon found customers coming in the door.
Opening day at Henri's was busy, he said, although never overly crowded.
"It's been a nice steady stream of people today," Antrobus said.
In the name of community journalism, I had planned to be one of the day's first paying customers at Henri's Market & Deli. Instead, I was able to take my wife, Alys, out for a late afternoon lunch.
Well established as a picky eater, Alys orders her burgers plain with only cheese. She claims it gives her an unrestricted evaluation of the meat, cheese and bread in purest form, and she surely does know a great burger when she tastes one.
Unburdened by such concerns, I was on a mission to create a custom burger designed to torment my buddy Jerry Lankford in North Carolina, a master of charcoal grilling who is no longer allowed to eat many of his favorite things.
Alys ordered her burger with smoked cheddar cheese, carefully choosing from the deli's cheeses, and a side of battered fries, extra crispy. I asked for my 8 ounce patty to be crowned with pepper jack cheese and further topped with grilled pineapple and a layer of pimento cheese, with a side of waffle fries.
Alys enjoyed a Pepsi, and I more enjoyed my first-ever chance to enjoy a cold brew at an establishment in Olive Hill, a Michelob Amberbock.
"I am so full, I can't believe I finished that burger," I said to my wife moments before Antrobus tempted us with a slice of pecan pie cheesecake.
"Cheesecake you say?" Alys said with a grin like Mona Lisa.
Although the pecan pie dessert looked delicious, my wife surprised me by requesting the "New York" style, which we attacked and defeated with a pair of forks.
Henri's Market & Deli is located behind Dollar General on Tom T. Hall Boulevard in Olive Hill, across the street from The Drive-In.
Story and Photos by TIM PRESTON
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