Review: Going crazy over Farmhouse Tacos
Meghan Salinas, Staff Writer
Photo credit: Meghan Salinas
Travelers Rest is slowly becoming the new Asheville and I for one, cannot be any more excited. Downtown Travelers Rest has cute little boutiques like Goose Feathers, locally owned coffee shops like Tandem and unique restaurants like Farmhouse Tacos.
Calling all those who have the taste of delicious gourmet tacos flowing in their veins. I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Chris Williamson, the owner of Farmhouse Tacos, to discuss how the locally owned, young restaurant is absolutely shining with popularity since its opening in early January.
What really intrigued me was that he used a capturing metaphor describing the tortilla as “a blank canvas.” Williamson says, “Farmhouse Tacos is solely based of its uniqueness.” As soon as I walked in I felt completely at ease and relaxed. The ambiance of the restaurant was exactly like the kind you’d find in a small, cozy coffee shop in the heart of Downtown Greenville.
I tried the most popular dish on the menu “The Farmhouse Buttermilk Fried Chicken” and the thought that came into my mind was simply this: “Can I please have these at my wedding and for the rest of my life?” One bite in and I knew that I was completely in love. Blake Carraher, a freshman at North Greenville University, said, “I did not even want to touch my dish it looked so good.”
When asked about restaurant expansion, Williamson said, “We are all about uniqueness; white-table cloth restaurants are dying; newer restaurants need that little something, like personal uniqueness, or else it will ultimately end up failing in the restaurant business.” Williamson said he has learned the ways of the kitchen by different mentorship opportunities and a lot of hands-on learning experience.
He said that opening his own restaurant has been his absolute dream and that blood, sweat and many tears got him to where he is today. Without ever going to culinary school, Williamson was captivated by the kitchen. He was willing to put everything on the line because he believes and is also invested in everything that Farmhouse Tacos is and will become.
Calling all of those who are enticed by the chopping and seasoning of ingredients. Williamson said that owning any business involves running into challenges along the way; it’s inevitable. Some advice that he gave to future restaurant owners was simply this, “If you do not take a change, you’ll never get to where you’re going.”
