NEW - Footnotes Cafe - on the Jackson Campus of SCC !

If you've worked at the same place for most of your career, planned on retiring from the company but suddenly found yourself without a job, you can identify with Randall Williamson.

Williamson, who worked as a research technician for DuPont-Agfa in Brevard for 29 ½ years, is one of a growing number of displaced workers in Western North Carolina.

"When the plant closed and I lost my job, I was just 49 - too young to retire," said Williamson. "I learned I couldn't take losing my job personally; it happens to a lot of people. It's easy to get down and out about it, but I just took it one day at a time."

Now he has changed his career path and become a successful entrepreneur in a field that has always interested him.

"I considered staying in the same line of work, but then I decided to just do something entirely new. The culinary field seemed like something I'd enjoy," he said.

Randall Williamson, Manager Footnotes Cafe

He graduated from Southwestern Community College's Hotel and Restaurant Management program in 2004 and last year graduated with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Culinary Technology from SCC.

Now he manages Footnotes Café, serving breakfast and lunch on SCC's Jackson campus.

"The folks who had the café on campus before- it was called it the Redbird-decided not to submit a bid this time and Ceretta Davis, who teaches culinary technology at SCC, talked to me about submitting a bid," said Williamson, who didn't give it too much thought at the time. "Then somebody else mentioned it to me and a couple of weeks later somebody else did so I talked to my friend, Dave Grant, who is assistant chef where I work at Balsam Mountain Preserve, and he and my wife, Sheila, said, 'Go for it,' so I did."

College officials, well acquainted with Williamson's catering skills, quickly accepted his bid.

"We had 15 days during break to convert everything over; get in all our supplies and be ready for our first customers," Williamson said. Meanwhile, he was still working at Balsam Mountain Preserve's exclusive private restaurant-lodge.

Not to mention he serves as part-time faculty for SCC, teaching an 11-week Hotel and Restaurant Management course for 16 Indonesian students training at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers.

"My English hasn't gotten any better; but theirs has," he said with a grin.

"I'm amazed at how diverse the culinary field is…there are so many new things to learn and to try out," said this husband, father and grandfather, now 52.

Footnotes- the new name of the café- was the brainchild of his wife.

"We wanted a college theme and I thought about footnotes at the bottom of a page. It just seemed to fit and Randall liked it," she said.

Their new café will feature fresh and seasonal foods and is open for breakfast and lunch from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Balsam Center.

"We'll have several vegetarian dishes, too. In fact, our veggie burger is already very popular," said Grant, who now works side-by-side Williamson in the café.

"Our wraps are also popular," said Grant, who started his culinary training in the military.

Each weekday morning Grant makes the gravy fresh and bakes homemade biscuits.

"Dave makes wonderful homemade soups, too," said Sheila Williamson, emphasizing "none of it comes out of a can."

The café also features homemade granola, fruit bowls, Nantucket organic juices and lactose-free fruit smoothies. The daily blackboard plate special features meat (fresh, not frozen) two vegetables, bread, drink and dessert for $6.00. You can get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for $1, small tossed salad for $1.50, a Reuben for $2.50, a loaded baked potato for $2.75 or a 6-ounce Pop's burger for $3. That's just a small sampling of the lunch menu.

For breakfast, two biscuits, topped with gravy, cost $2. For $4 you can get two pancakes, two eggs and choice of bacon or sausage. There's also lots in between.

"All of our prices are in 25-cent increments," said Williamson. "And the prices include tax. If it says $3 on the menu, then it's $3, not $3.21; that makes it a lot easier."

"Don't forget to try our daily homemade desserts," he added.

After the Footnotes crew gets settled in, they plan to offer family-style dinners once or twice a week.

"Plus, we'll serve special event dinners-Valentine's Day, for example," said Grant, a former SCC culinary technology student.

They also offer on-site and off-site catering.

"We plan to add some atmosphere to the café soon," said Sheila Williamson. "Our color scheme is burgundy and beige, with black and white accents. Randall has some pictures to hang, we'll do valances over the windows and cover the chairs. We'll convert over to four-top tables, too.

"How do you like the new counter top Dennis Wilkey built us?" she said, pointing to the area where Cindi Layman takes the orders.

Williamson said his crew appreciates the feedback and comments-both good and bad- and reviews each one.

"Everybody here at the college has been really good with helping us get it together in such a short period of time," he said. "We can't say enough about how wonderful the maintenance guys have been."

"We all feel at home," said Sheila Williamson, "especially since Randall, Dave and I are all former SCC students."

"One of the best things I like about it is the interaction with the public," he said. "When I was in research I spent a lot of time by myself; I like being with people much better."

They hope the staff and students will be patient as they settle in and work out the kinks.

"We know everyone is rushed during lunch hour and nobody likes to stand in a long line. Now if you call your order in before 11 a.m., we can have it ready for you when you get here. After 11 a.m. we get too busy to answer the phone," Williamson said. The number to call is 586-4091, ext. 349. Take-out orders are also available.

The full menu is available at www.southwesterncc.edu/footnotes/

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