SILER CITY – The Carolina Stockyard Restaurant sells between 500 and 600 pounds of beef a week – a pretty remarkable feat considering the restaurant is only open three days a week, according to the restaurant’s co-owner, Sherry Duncan.
That distinction helped the restaurant earn the prestigious Beef Backer award, given to only one restaurant in North Carolina each year, from the N.C. Cattlemen's Beef Council.
The N.C. Cattlemen's Beef Council is charged with the promotion of beef and is led by a board of cattle farmers from across the state. The award is given to a restaurant which goes the extra mile in serving and marketing beef.
“We want to recognize the foodservice establishments who do a tremendous job serving beef to their patrons,” Ashley Herring, a representative of the N.C. Cattleman’s Beef Council said. “The amount of beef sold at the Carolina Stockyard Restaurant is commendable as well as the tastiness of their dishes. We want to put a feather in their cap and say ‘Great job!’”
“I was very surprised,” Carolina Stockyard Restaurant co-owner Robert Crabb said. “There are a lot of really nice white tablecloth restaurants across the state.”
The restaurant, at 260 Stockyard Road, rests on the same property as the Carolina Stockyards, a livestock auction house, hosting auctions Monday through Friday. Each day, farmers line up to bring in their cattle, goats, and other livestock to sell to the highest bidder.
The restaurant serves Southern farm food including hamburger steak, ribeye sandwiches and classic burgers. Dennis Curtis, a resident of southern Alamance County who eats at the restaurant every Friday morning when he comes for the goat auction, suggests the pork chops and scrambled eggs.
“This is a good place to eat,” Curtis said. “They have very good food.”
Pat Phillips of Siler City is one of 10 ladies who also come to the restaurant every Friday. The women, many of whom are retired from Siler City, come together to eat, chat, and share stories.
Brian Green, a goat farmer from Carthage, eats breakfast with his family at the restaurant on Fridays.
“I remember coming here since I was their size,” Green said, pointing to the school-aged children Hannah and Kaden Scarborough sitting at the table with him. “We’ve been coming here for years.”
“This has always just been the place to come in Siler City,” Duncan said. “The place where everybody grew up. Plus our food is good…that helps.”
“I think it’s a one stop shop,” she said of the restaurant next to the stockyard auction site. “You can sell ‘em, you can buy ‘em, you can eat ‘em.”
Laughing, Duncan said that some folks even ask if they can “pick out the steak they want.”
“No, we don’t do that,” she said with a laugh.
While history and legacy play a role in the restaurant’s success, Crabb showered praise on his partner Duncan.
“Sherry [Duncan] does 90 percent of the work,” Crabb said. “She deserves the credit.”
“I’m very proud,” Duncan said. “This puts us in a prestigious category.”
The Carolina Stockyard Restaurant’s hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays.
