Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 54
Asheville's Moose Cafe rarely has an empty table, owing perhaps in equal parts to farmhouse fare and the atmosphere that is a sort of shrine to the genius of the Appalachian
people in preserving the goodness of the garden.
FRED SaucEman
We had seen the Stoney Knob Café sign
on Interstate 26 in Weaverville,
North Carolina, dozens of times,
passing it as we traversed one of the
most beautiful highways in America.
But we had never stopped. Usually,
our eyes were on Asheville or Greenville, South Carolina, or the beach.
Come to find out, we were bypassing one of the finest restaurants in the Southern Appalachian
region. After our Facebook post
from that first visit in the summer
of 2016, the comments poured
forth. Many friends told us it was
their favorite restaurant.
We operate under the maxim
that food tastes better when you
know its history. Stoney Knob Café
has a rich past. Now in his late 80s,
Gus Dermas, the original owner,
still comes to work every day alongside his two sons, John and Yotty.
54 BlueRidgeCountry.com
Gus left his native Greece in
1947 for New York City, to work in
the hotel and restaurant industry.
He peddled flowers on Manhattan street corners with his father
to learn English. After serving with
the United States Army during the
Korean Conflict, he found a home
in Greensboro, North Carolina, and
opened up a restaurant with his
brother-in-law.
It was the era of segregation,
when African Americans were being
turned away from lunch counters
because of the color of their skin.
While the Greensboro Woolworth's
was making worldwide headlines
for denying service to a group of
African American students from
North Carolina A&T University,
Gus Dermas was welcoming African
Americans to his Greensboro diner.
As Gus once said, "We're all hu-
man beings, and everyone deserves
a good meal." That story continues
to be a source of Dermas family
pride to this day.
When a friend told Gus about
a building up for sale in Weaverville, North Carolina, he moved to
the mountains. The area reminded
him of the place where he was
born in Greece.
"He fell in love with the mountains," says John.
The Stoney Knob Café opened in
1962, and it has been in the same
spot ever since. John describes the
original restaurant as a "meat-andthree," serving such Southern staples as liver and onions, hamburger
steaks, meatloaf and fried chicken.
Gus cooked up three meals a day,
with his wife Minnie as a full partner in the enterprise. She, too, was
Greek, her name an Americanized
http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016
Contents
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Intro
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Cover1
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Cover2
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Contents
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 5
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 6
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 7
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 8
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 9
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 10
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 11
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 12
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 13
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 14
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 15
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 16
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 17
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 18
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 19
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 20
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 21
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 22
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 23
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 24
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 25
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 26
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 27
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 28
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 29
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 30
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 31
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 32
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 33
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 34
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 35
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 36
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 37
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 38
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 39
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 40
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 41
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 42
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 43
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 44
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 45
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 46
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 47
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 48
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 49
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 50
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 51
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 52
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 53
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 54
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 55
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 56
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 57
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 58
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 59
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 60
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 61
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 62
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 63
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 64
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 65
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - 66
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Cover3
Blue Ridge Country - November/December 2016 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/BlueRidgeCountryMarchApril2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/leisuremedia360/leisure/blue-ridge-country-january-february-2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCND21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/BRCSO21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brcja21
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2021_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_11_12
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2020_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2019_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2018_0102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_1112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_2017_0304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20170102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20160102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20151112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20150102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20141112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20140102
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20131112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/leisure/brc_20130708
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com