The latest venture by a member of Chapel Hill’s acclaimed Council family is set to once again grace tables with Southern dishes and bites.
Tonya Council, one of the granddaughters of Mildred “Mama Dip” Council, is preparing to open Tonya’s Café next week at 400 South Elliott Road. The business aims to be a casual southern cooking spot, starting with lunches and brunches five days a week, and held a family and friends luncheon on Tuesday in advance of its opening.
Tonya’s Café will operate in the unit that was once next door to Council’s bake shop for Tonya’s Cookies Company, which opened in the Galleria shopping center in Dec. 2023. Council told Chapelboro her vision was always to do more than just have the lone unit for her bakery recipes.
“I actually wanted to get all three spaces,” she said, “but [the UPS Store] beat me to one of them. I wanted it to be café, [Sweet Tea & Cornbread] shop, bakery…so it was already in the plan.”
After significant renovation and detailing to compliment the bake shop’s blue and white, the space that has sat vacant since housing Wentworth & Sloan Jewelers now features a kitchen and counter. Longtime fans of Chapel Hill’s Mama Dip’s Traditional Country Cooking restaurant on West Rosemary Street may recognize some of the menu items, with Council saying she’s aiming to adapt some options for lighter meals and with locally-sourced ingredients.
“We’re trying to bring back some of the old-school sandwiches, but with a little twist,” she said. “I like doing stuff like [what] I was grown up on. You know, at Mama Dip’s we had catfish — so we have catfish po’ boys, chicken and dumplings, and pork chops on special…and we’ll start filtering other things in once we get the staff knowledgeable on what we have.”
Other early offerings from Tonya’s Café include her signature burger sliders with pimento cheese and jam, as well as chicken salad sandwiches and Monte Cristo sandwiches. The menu will also regularly feature fresh veggies and classic sides like mac ‘n’ cheese, pickled and fried okra, deviled eggs and more. Council also said cornbread flights, featuring three varieties, will be available — as will a mini pie flight with a scoop of ice cream for those wanting to satisfy a sweet tooth.
Click or tap the gallery below to see pictures from Tuesday’s friends and family preview of Tonya’s Café.
Tonya Council slices a custom cake from her bakery as part of the initial celebration for the café’s opening.
Since starting her cookie company in 2009, Council has earned recognition locally and nationally for her creations — including several features in Oprah Winfrey’s O magazine. She has also created the Sweet Tea & Cornbread gourmet food store, which has a pair of locations in the Triangle and distributes North Carolina-based products. By adding the café to her repertoire, Council is helping carry on some of Mama Dip’s and her restaurant’s legacy. The launch comes as the West Rosemary Street institution is adjusting to new operations itself, as the Council siblings transitioned their mother’s restaurant to a carry-out only model last summer. Tonya’s Café, however, will offer patrons the chance to sit either indoor and outdoor in a fast casual service style.
And while she’s putting her own spin on the business, the younger Council says some things — like classic southern cooking — are worth remaining true to.
“I’m the type of person where I always pay homage to my grandmother because I wouldn’t be here without her,” Tonya said of Mildred Council. “A lot the stuff I’ve learned to cook — most of the stuff I’ve learned to cook — was from her, so it’s always going to be the writing on the wall.
“We’re just going to keep it simple, like my family always has,” she added of the café. “And then hopefully people come out, bring their families, and keep it a family tradition.”
Tonya’s Café will have its grand opening with its regular hours on Wednesday, Mar. 19. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the business will serve food from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Fridays will operate from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hours will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays to allow for brunch in the morning, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
Editor’s Note: This article has been edited to correct a mention of Tonya’s Café holding a soft opening and adjusted hours of operation.
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