Afton Woodward, owner and operator of Local Roots, slices a piece of chicken before topping an assembly of salads.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
By BRENNAN D. CRAIN, WCLU News
GLASGOW — Being different is something Afton Woodward has always embraced, and now she is taking a chance of a lifetime to bring a unique experience to Glasgow.
Across the street from the Plaza Theatre along Main Street is a new walk-in lunch spot called Local Roots. The nestled-away grab-and-go eatery toward the back of a parking lot downtown opened on Jan. 16 after several months of preparation.
Woodward has worked in restaurants doing various tasks for a great part of her life, she said. She always dreamed of owning a business from a young age whether it was a children’s boutique or an ice cream shop. She eventually landed in catering services.
“I just had this entrepreneurial spirit,” Woodward said.
Between work at the Glasgow Country Club and Glasgow’s former Plum Yum, Woodward’s culinary skills went to the next level. She also grew her clientele between the two jobs as people came to know her “sophisticated menu” creations.
The venture at Plum Yum ended in 2017, but Woodward’s love for cooking and catering continued. Her life changed one day after she posted a picture of a design she created for a customer. That one post made all the difference.
“People just started ordering things left and right,” she said. “Every day. My kitchen at home was overflowing.”
A vision ignited inside the mother of two to take her catering service from her home kitchen to something more professional. By that point, catering was becoming a solid gig.
The process to get into a brick-and-mortar location from start to finish took almost a year, she said. Her plan changed from a private kitchen space to a full-scale site where she now serves daily lunch specials.
Woodward said she would best describe her food as fresh and colorful with an elegant flair. The menu boasts items like grilled chicken salads topped with an array of yellow and red peppers, old-fashioned cornbread salad, creamy spinach with sun-dried tomatoes and chicken salad with croissants.
Inside, the eatery boasts a clear view of the kitchen and food preparation area along with a showcase where many of the menu items are stored for convenient pick-up and viewing. Woodward said she also hopes to expand the patio area with outdoor seating options as weather permits.
The community’s support from the beginning takes much of the credit for the growing small business in Glasgow. Many of those initial customers continue to come back.
“Without them growing me out of my own kitchen, I could have never even had Local Roots,” she said. “They literally would sit at my kitchen table as I was making their meal for them to take to their family – multiple times.”
Find Local Roots on Facebook or in person at 120 Plaza Way in Glasgow.