Pete's Grill — Restaurant in Gibsonville

There was no signage explaining the seating procedure, so I stood there awkwardly for a minute until the young lady behind the counter finally gave me a polite but inquiring look. I told her I didn’t know where to sit, whereupon she lit up like a firefly and welcomed me. I felt something like a first time visitor in a southern church when she said “oh! You’re new! Welcome! Sit anywhere you like!”. Actually, that may not be the best analogy, for in a lot of southern churches the seats are claimed by members, and woe be unto you my child if you occupy one of these sacrosanct pew positions.

So I found an empty table. My server was also very cheerful and friendly, and explained to me that there are basically two options. You can order from the menu—a sandwich or burger or hotdog or something of that ilk, or you can go to their cafeteria style serving area where you can get a combination of a meat and vegetables.

I vacillated for a few minutes on this, and ultimately decided to ditch my original plan of getting my usual burger, hotdog, and fries, and opted instead for the southern style meat and vegetable offerings at the buffet area, for that seemed to be where everyone was going.

The price was pretty reasonable, so I settled for quite a large array of things. This way I could get a good sampling of what everything is all about.

Before I unpack this item-by-item, I think we need to face the simple fact: most (if not all) of the vegetables are canned. Some are spruced up with a couple of seasonings, but everything seems to me to be straight out of a can.

Beef stew: a solid effort. Beef was reasonably tender and flavorful. But stew? Every recipe of beef stew I’ve ever looked at contains carrots, potatoes, and onions. None here. But it still tasted good.

Greens: I suspect turnip and they were fine if you like straight out of the can turnip greens.

Cabbage: Bland. Uninspired. Canned.

Green beans: These were spruced up decently with seasoning and were good.

Mac and Cheese: Macaroni. Cheese. Hard to mess it up. A marriage between these two wonderful items. It was fine.

Cornbread: I have never seen cornbread like this. It really should be called cornbread pancakes. Whatever you call it, they weren’t good. Bland, tasteless, except for the burned surface on the outside.

Mashed Potatoes: Hospital mashed potatoes have more flavor. Painfully instant and not good.

Pintos: Not bad, but still canned and pretty basic. Texas Pete helped.

Sweet tea: Slightly better than average.

This place is packed full of locals who apparently all know each other, love the food, and bestow four and five star ratings on Pete’s. I don’t to see what all the fuss is about. It does not rise to that high of a rating. It is, at best, just good. Cafeteria food. The workers are very nice and the price is very reasonable. But the food is just OK.

Hey! Check out my photo of their...

Been going there for 60 years. I will not go back. They left my desert out on my takeout order so I called back. A lady that answered the phone said sure the next time you come in I will make it right. So I phoned in an order again when I got there I was so embarrassed in front of customers that I have known for years. The girl said "how do I know that you are not just trying to get something for free no I can't do that". Let me tell you all some of the people that patronize this business are very well off and they do not have to get a $2 desert for free. I have been a customer there for at least 55 years and I do not have to spend another penny there. I hope this post will help you to run your business better. I always post accurate posts, everything I posted here is 100% true. You guys really should think. A lot of us that come in have been customers for a lot of years and most have enough money to buy this restaurant. So I have no reason to lie about a $2 desert to get a free one! Food for thought. I will not come in again and be embarrassed in front of my...

Pete's is in downtown Gibsonville off of Piedmont. It is somewhat hidden and out-of-towners wouldn't know it was here unless told. There are several dining options in downtown Gibsonville that really deserve a look. This is one of those.

Home style diner type foods are served here. Excellent breakfast particularly their biscuits, omelets, and grits. I haven't tried anything else but this is an excellent "most important meal of the day" joint. It does this very well.

Small town service, clean dining area, and and friendly folks. The knock on Pete's is that they don't take cards. This is true but their model of business has worked since 1957. That...