Melissa Flynn and Jason Flanery’s new eatery in southwest Delaware started its fifth week Monday.
Country Kitchen Express, 3783 U.S. Route 42, will serve breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays during the off-season months. The co-owners will alternate operation of the roughly 660-square-foot location with Steve’s Dari Treats, which has served ice cream during the summer months for the past 15 years.
“They’re starting to be excited about us,” Flanery said.
He and Flynn had the idea to start an express eatery where customers can order at the window or the drive thru a couple months ago. With the ice cream parlor located at South Section Line Road and Route 42, the new business will fill a need for commuters and local residents in the area.
“There’s really no drive thru option that’s not a chain” during the winter time, Flynn said. Since it’s opening, the two owners have served truck drivers, teachers, Dublin commuters, students and locals.
The business offers a simple menu of breakfast sandwiches and platters as well as donuts and cinnamon rolls from Plain City-based Der Dutchman Restaurant. For lunch, the two offer a different special and homemade soup each day.
Some static items such as “Meatball Mondays” — Flynn and Flanery are considering doing Taco Tuesdays, but haven’t committed to the idea. Other special offers include free coffee with a purchase from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m., while a kids and oatmeal menus are around the corner.
“We’re both passion about food,” said Flanery, who’s been cooking meals with his mother since he was eight years old.
“We have lots of ideas and things we want to do.”
That includes expansion opportunities into full-service catering, a food truck to operate during the summer time and eventually dine-in restaurant within three to five years.
“Things we’ll keep growing,” Flynn said.
