VALDOSTA — Let’s start with the name: The Packhouse.

Brad Carter grew up on his family’s farm in Lake Park, where he learned to cook from his mother, Lilly, and his grandmother.

“Every farm had three essential buildings,” said Carter. “They had a smoke house, a corn crib and a pack house. A pack house is where you stored your flue-cured tobacco, took it off the sticks, stored it until it went to market. Underneath your floor, you’d store your root vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, that kind of thing.”

While Carter’s career veered away from cooking, he never lost his love for it.

Frank George grew up in Valdosta where he watched his dad build, among other things, the building that now houses The Packhouse.

“My dad built this building for Mr. Lowry,” said George. “It was the Western Sizzlin’ for years.”

George started managing the property for his family about five years ago.

When the property became empty earlier this year, George and Laura Cowart, who had been the assistant manager of O’Neals when it was located in the building, started talking about opening a restaurant in the building.

One early October evening, Carter and George sat on George’s tailgate in the parking lot, talking back and forth about opening a restaurant, how they would run it, what it would be like.

“It was an opportunity I had been looking for to try out,” said Carter. “When Frank presented the opportunity, it was a no-brainer.”

By the time they left, the sun had gone down and they had decided to go into it together.

“Believe it or not, 21 days later, we opened the restaurant,” said Carter.

“We had a lot of help,” said George. “A lot of prayer and a lot of help.”

A lot of work went into those three weeks: taking out and replacing light fixtures, repainting, breaking kitchen equipment down and giving it a deep clean.

They also sought the people who had worked in the building when it was O’Neal’s, bringing them back to work in The Packhouse.

“It took a lot of pressure off us not having to go out and do interviews,” said George. “Not only do we have experienced people but experience in this restaurant.”

And after batting around names for weeks, Carter reached back into those years of growing up on the farm and the pack house the family still uses.

The Packhouse serves breakfast and lunch buffets.

For breakfast, the kitchen whips up bacon, eggs, sausage, sawmill gravy, biscuits, grits, hash browns, breakfast casseroles, pancakes and french toast.

At 9:30 a.m., the crew starts breaking down the buffet, switching it out for a fresh lunch that starts at 10:30.

Lunch features different specials throughout the week. Monday is fried shrimp, Tuesday is ribs, gizzards and livers, Wednesday is pork chops and bacon-wrapped chicken, Thursday is chicken divan and Friday is a fish fry.

While Sundays feature a brunch-type atmosphere, Saturdays are still being figured out.

“We’re still evolving our Saturday as to what we want it to be,” said Carter.

The Packhouse is located at 907 N. Ashley St.

It is open 6-9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is open 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Sundays.

More information: (229) 253-1122