It takes more than just a good idea and good business instincts to make something happen. Three friends prove that with the opening of the Smokin’ Skillet Café.

Elaine Corbin, Bootsy Taylor and another “silent” partner have joined together to create a restaurant, bringing something new to Pike County.

“We are using that passions that we have – cooking, customer service and providing hospitality,” Taylor said. “We think that is going to be an excellent formula.”

Corbin, Taylor and their other partner have worked together on multiple projects over the past three to four years, and decided it was time to make their own restaurant.

The Smokin’ Skillet Café will feature home-style foods with a Caribbean flare.

“We wanted to serve meals that are fresh and familiar, but have a unique twist to it in the way it’s prepared and the way that it’s season and presented,” Corbin said.

While the café is still undergoing some construction and maintenance, it is set to open Sept. 8. The café will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. On Sunday, it will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Corbin and Taylor said that they want everyone to feel welcome and they want to provide a place for anyone to come eat and feel comfortable.

“We’re going to have a relaxed, pleasant environment,” Corbin said. “You can bring your family, bring a date or just pop in and grab something to eat.”

They said that the café would be a good place for truckers, farmers, university students and anyone in the area or just passing through.

The Smokin’ Skillet Café is located on U.S. Highway 231 South, just before Art Wurks. Corbin and Taylor said that the location is key to their success, and will also be an asset to those traveling through the area and those having late work shifts.

“Highway 231 has a lot of history, a lot of rich Southern history,” Taylor said. “It links to the North and comes back down all the way to the South. We want to keep that connection flowing.”

Taylor said that the food also reflects the connection of the North and the South.

“It’s the North meeting the South with different ideas with different regional backgrounds of food,” Taylor said.

Corbin and Taylor said they aim to treat their customers like family, and they want the community to feel like that have a nice place to go that makes them feel good.

“One of our main reasons we want to do this is because we are family-oriented,” Taylor said. “That gives us an idea of how to pass that along to our customers through food, conversation, environment and atmosphere. That is something we want to be different about in this area.”

With the Smokin’ Skillet Café aiming to be “different” in many aspects of its business, Corbin and Taylor believe that it will be a good thing.

“We are very confident about what we are providing,” Taylor said. “We set the bar high, and we are definitely up for the challenge. We want to represent this community at a very high standard.”

Corbin said that the tagline or slogan for the Smokin’ Skillet Café is “a unique Southern dining experience,” and they plan on maintaining that name.

“I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised,” Taylor said. “We want the entire county to be proud of the Smokin’ Skillet Café.”