Sunday, 05/08/05

FRANKLIN —Just after Henpeck Market on Lewisburg Pike was overhauled to add a full kitchen, modern dining area and plenty more amenities, another market started thinking about renovating.

At the Burwood country store Huff's Grocery, owner Ken Huff finally got running water and a sink.

In Williamson County, some country stores stay popular by staying country, catering to the old-timers who want their bologna sandwiches and 50-cent coffee. Others stretch further, keeping the bacon-and-biscuit crowd happy while adding fancier touches that appeal to newcomers' tastes.

''We've had a movement of people from all over the United States coming into our local communities and our neighboring large towns,'' said Daisy King, who runs Miss Daisy's Kitchen in Grassland Market. ''If you're astute in the food industry, you bring in what the consumers ask for. That's what dictates what we serve.''

As country stores get more sophisticated, it's become the norm to see a meat-and-three with chicken cordon bleu on the menu, or pump your gas at a market that invites you to slip in for a teacake and some shopping.

Straddling the two worlds isn't always easy, but places such as Puckett's Grocery, Henpeck Market and Grassland Market are making it work.

Finding your audience

Puckett's owner Andy Marshall said he always intended his Leiper's Fork grocery/restaurant to straddle the line between rural and hip — it's just that the hip side took a while in coming.

''We went into Leiper's Fork with that vision in mind,'' he said. ''It was just slow to develop it. We had to adapt more to the clientele that was walking through the door. We had to be patient.''

The menu's more adventurous items floundered until he removed them, waiting for the right moment to make the leap.

Once the restaurant caught up with the Californians and New Yorkers who were making Leiper's Fork their home, Marshall finally got his wish.

''It started to broaden — we went from the full gamut of folks who've lived in Leiper's Fork all their lives to people who've just moved there from California.''

At Puckett's newest location in Franklin, offerings are even fancier, with a dinner menu that includes nightly smoked salmon and black Angus steak.

''Seven years ago when we were processing deer, who would have thought?'' said Andy's wife, Jan Marshall.

Henpeck Market's entry into the county was somewhat smoother. At its location near the Goose Creek interchange, a growing group of diverse neighbors was waiting on an updated gathering place when the doors finally opened.

''We figured we would have a diverse customer base. There's such a range of people who live out here, such diversity,'' said Jackie Gregory, who owns the shop with husband Don. ''You've got the customer base here, and people just like good food. Who doesn't like good food?''

Striking the balance

Looking at the upscale offerings such as fancy cheeses and cuts of meat inside display cases, it's easy to forget that Henpeck Market is at its core a small-town gas station market. But as they experiment and add, the Gregorys are keenly aware of the place they occupy between two worlds.

''We've talked about doing a high-end coffee area, but we don't want to out-price the guys who are used to a 79-cent cup of coffee,'' Gregory said. ''This is their market before it was ours. You have to really try hard to be mindful of that balance.''

It works, they say, because of the market's everyone-is-welcome attitude.

''We want the construction worker to come in even though the ladies are having lunch here, and we want women to feel comfortable here for lunch and not like they're being stared at by a bunch of construction workers,'' she said.

King said she strikes the balance at Grassland Market — one of the only independently owned groceries in the area — by making sure the old-time favorites are always on hand while still experimenting with new flavors such as paninis and Asian salad.

''I always keep the classics that Miss Daisy has been known for: pimento cheese and chicken pot pie and meat loaf. It doesn't matter who comes in—when they try it, they're going to like it,'' she said. ''But I also like to adventure with food.''

For Marshall at Puckett's, his clientele has evolved with him. Currently, he said the mix of sales at Puckett's comes half from ladies-who-lunch foods like salads, and half from the down-home burgers and meat-and-three plates.

''As our clientele changed and evolved, we've evolved some of the types of things we offer, making sure we stayed true to who we were,'' he said.

Creating an image

Now that Puckett's has established itself as the go-to place for the best of the country and uptown worlds, the Franklin location is branching out even further.

New entertainment nights include a mixed-media music and theater event known as ''Connections'' on Tuesdays, a piano bar on Thursdays, and ''date night'' on Saturday in addition to the usual Friday night bands.

''There's more of a downtown feel,'' Marshall said of the Franklin restaurant. ''There's more walk-in traffic, more activities, more things to do — we're more part of a whole downtown scene.''

At Grassland Market, King isn't afraid to take more culinary risks because the customers ask for it, she said.

''People come in every day and say, 'Thank you so much' for bringing in caramelized red onions, or kalamata olives,''' she said. ''Our food needs and wants are growing culturally. The neighborhood wants these things.''

The Gregorys are sticking with the formula that has made their market a favorite: comfort over all else.

''I think of it like your favorite pair of worn-in blue jeans,'' Gregory said.

When the dichotomy works best, the results can be amusing.

''It's so funny to see big, burly construction workers coming in saying, 'Can I have a teacake?''' she said.

The image of the old-fashioned market is so strong it can handle all the variations and evolutions that it goes through here, Marshall said.

''It's so funny the way different generations respond to it,'' he said. ''A young man walked in the other day — he was probably only about 15 years old — and he said, 'Man, you don't see grocery stores like this anymore.'''