Although Stacy’s Skillet, located at 12 E. Lakeview Drive, has had to close its dining room because of the coronavirus pandemic, the restaurant remains open and is serving customers through its drive-through and curbside services.
Prior to opening Stacy’s Skillet, owner Stacy Morgan worked at Southern Fried Rabbit for 10 years but wanted something more hands on.
“My favorite part about this business is the people. At Southern Fried Rabbit, all we did was through the drive-through so there was less interaction. I loved seeing smiling faces and wanted something bigger, and oh my, did I get it.”
The Lakeview restaurant offers a mixture of Cajun and Southern favorites, including seafood, po-boys, gumbo and pasta. Morgan said some of the most popular items are beef tips, crab cake pasta and the salad bar.
“It’s a little country and a little bit rock ‘n roll,” she said. “My father was from here in Columbia, and my mother is from New Orleans so I’m a mixture. I learned (growing up) how to fry chicken, learned how to make rice and gravy and learned how to make gumbo, which is a big seller here as well.”
Morgan said her employees are the biggest reason why Stacy’s Skillet is successful.
“Without my people, this doesn’t exist,” she said.
However, because of the coronavirus she has had to reduce her workforce from 16 to just six with the dining room being closed. She said it’s been really hard on her having to let people go for the time being, and she has tried to help them get on unemployment. She added that when, not if, we get through the pandemic, she intends to bring her staff back.
“We’re going to make it here,” she said. “I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to keep them. When we open back up I hope to get them all back and some.”
Morgan said she’s been blessed to be able to keep Stacy’s Skillet open because of its drive-through. When she worked at Southern Fried Rabbit, she saw how much value it could bring to her own restaurant. Although it hasn’t been particularly busy through the years, now it’s the primary source of her business.
“I’m just blessed to have it. That’s basically what we’ve been doing. If they want to do curbside, they call us and the girls go out and bring their food to them because the (drive-through) line gets kind of long on the weekends,” she said.
Stacy’s Skillet is also delivering some orders, too. Morgan said it used to just be her delivering catering orders to businesses, but now she’s letting her employees do it so they could get some gratuity to make up for their lost income.
The only change to the restaurant’s hours of operation has been closing on Sundays, which used to be a really busy day with customers coming from church to eat. With churches closing, the business became slower on Sundays so it was cut. Stacy’s remains open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday from 4 p.m. until.
Being a part of the community is a big deal for Morgan and Stacy’s Skillet. She said while she mainly grew up in New Orleans, Columbia has always been a safe haven for her and she feels more relaxed here.
“Making this my home was very important to me growing up. When it was going to be my decision as to where I wanted to be, this was going to be it,” she said. “That’s how important it is to me.”
