With all the wrangling recently over Airbnbs, zoning, Corridor H, and other controversial topics, Country Roads News thought it was time to explore a concept nearly everyone supports – breakfast.
Happy & More
The Basics: This relative newcomer in Thomas is located in the space formerly occupied by TipTop coffee, which moved down the street. It offers breakfast classics like omelets, biscuits with sausage gravy, yogurt, and oatmeal.
Prices: Entrees range from $6 for oatmeal to $14 for an omelet with hashbrowns, sausage or bacon, and toast.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Monday; closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Menu suggestion: Try the breakfast sandwich on sourdough bread.
Milo’s
The basics: This spacious and homey restaurant in Davis is a meeting hub for both locals and tourists. It features a wide variety of breakfast options ranging from basics like pancakes to more ambitious choices like huevos rancheros and a country skillet. And you can get a mimosa.
Breakfast Hours: 8-11:30 a.m. Friday through Monday
Prices: Entrees range from $9 for a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich to $15 for avocado toast.
Menu tip: Owner Brent Markwood takes pride in serving perfectly cooked eggs. The scrambled eggs hit the mark, cooked firm but not scorched or rubbery.
Breakfast Nook
The Basics: “Hearty” best defines this restaurant in Canaan Valley, which is frequented mostly by locals. You won’t find granola or a bowl of fresh fruit on the menu. The focus is on stick-to-your ribs fare like omelets, pancakes, and chipped beef on toast. It’s the only place in the area where you’ll find pork chops on the breakfast menu.
Breakfast Hours: 7-11 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. to noon Saturday and Sunday.
Prices: Entrees start at $8 for a breakfast sandwich and top out at $14 for the pork chops.
Sawmill Restaurant
The Basics: Like the Breakfast Nook, the Sawmill is frequented mostly by locals looking for a filling meal. It’s located in the Alpine Lodge motel. Overall, it’s the most affordable restaurant with a full breakfast menu in the area.
Breakfast Hours: 6:30-11 a.m., every day.
Prices: Entrees range from $8 for French toast to $14 for steak and eggs.
Canaan Valley Resort State Park and Blackwater Falls State Park
The Basics: The restaurants at these state parks sporadically offer breakfast buffets, depending on the number of people visiting the facilities. The dining areas are large and nicely appointed with rustic touches. The buffets feature items ranging from healthy (fresh fruit and oatmeal) to decadent (sausage, bacon, and biscuits with gravy). When the buffet isn’t available, you can order from the menu. The views from the dining area at the Canaan Valley facility are spectacular.
Breakfast Hours: Canaan Valley, 7-11 a.m., seven days a week; Blackwater Falls, 8-11 a.m., seven days a week.
Prices: $15-$17 for the buffet. Menu items range from $10 for granola with fruit to $15 for eggs Benedict.
Secret bonus: Free Tesla charging stations for electric vehicles are available.
More Options
Tie One On. This fishing-themed taphouse and restaurant in Thomas is the only breakfast joint in the area where you can also shop for fishing rods and tackle. It offers a handful of breakfast options for about $10, including some inventive specials. Breakfast hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday through Monday.
TipTop: This gem in Thomas is known primarily for its coffee, but it also serves fresh-baked pastries and a limited selection of breakfast sandwiches.
Adventure Outfitter Brings Gear and Expert Advice to Tucker County
Few things in life are more discouraging for outdoor enthusiasts than finding out two days into a bucket-list adventure that your new backpack is a mismatch for your body type or your clothing isn’t right for the local climate.
Boots, clothing, or a piece of gear that seemed fine when you tried it out in the store for a few minutes can turn into a serious problem after a day or two in the field.
Garry Green’s mission in life is to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Green and Liz Pasqualucci are the co-owners of Mountain Trails, which recently opened in Davis adjacent to Blackwater Bikes. It’s their third shop in the region along with storefronts in Winchester and Front Royal, Va.
In addition to outdoor gear, footwear, and clothing, Mountain Trails plans to offer guided hikes in the area, with shuttle service for point-to-point hikes.
Green, a former rafting and sea kayaking guide in Alaska, refers to Mountain Trails as “specialty outdoor retail” with the goal of creating safer, more enjoyable wilderness experiences.
Green says the right piece of high-quality gear is often a lifetime investment that saves money in the long run. It’s also better for the environment than throwing away inferior products that wear out every few years, he said.
Green directs no nastiness at big outdoor retailers like REI, but he insists that they can’t match what Mountain Trails offers; top-notch service and expertise. His staff members train for hours when new gear arrives to make sure they know what they’re selling and how to use it.
And Green insists that his shop isn’t just for extreme outdoor enthusiasts. People who want to do short hikes on local trails a few times a week also benefit from getting fitted with the right hiking poles, boots, and day packs, he said.
“We try to take care of everybody the best we can,” Green said. “Everybody is welcome here. Everybody.”
Locals Speak Out About Housing Woes
Mountain State Spotlight has a new report exploring workforce housing woes and the impact of tourism in the region.
“There’s no room for growth for me here,” said Vanessa Shaffer, who works at a coffee shop in Davis. “It makes everything around here really expensive. There’s not a lot of housing left for locals.”
The report also explores the recent vote by Davis residents to reject a proposed zoning ordinance.
Country Roads News has explored housing issues and zoning in depth in recent months:
Davis Residents Reject Land Use Restrictions
Airbnb Growth Sparks Fierce Debate as Key Vote Looms in Davis
Growing Pains: Davis Seeks to Tame Impact of Development
National Magazine Calls Davis and Thomas “Affordable.” Locals Beg to Differ.
