letter from the EDITOR
W
HEN I MOVED INTO MY FIRST
post-college apartment, my mother gave
me the dining room furniture set we had used
growing up so that I could furnish the space (and so
she would have an excuse to buy a new set). The
sideboard, china cabinet, dining room table and six
chairs belonged originally to “Grandmother Mathis,”
my grandfather’s mother.
No one knows for sure how old the set of slightly
ornate walnut furniture is, but she was born in 1895,
so it’s likely around 100 years old. My mother and I
covered the seat cushions with a pretty yellow and
white fabric, but the rest of it still retains its original
character. It also shows its scars and stories. There are
writings underneath the table that I can’t quite make
out, and some sort of rod and crank that I assume are
related to the optional leaves. There are a few
scratches and water rings as time will give. Recently,
when I moved into my new home and the china
cabinet out of storage, my aunt and I tried to open
the cabinet door only to find that it had to be
unlocked with a key that eventually showed up
somehow in my father’s desk drawer in Blue Ridge.
Those furniture pieces played host to countless
dinner parties, fancy place settings, restless children,
bills being calculated and grand holiday feasts.
That table has also seen many more homecooked
meals than usual over the past three months,
as I have been in quarantine during the coronavirus
outbreak. And as much as I love the rickety chairs
and the perfect puzzle table, I’ve missed going to
restaurants. I’ve missed seeing familiar faces and
trying new dishes and drinking a glass of wine with
friends and relishing in my favorite dishes. Restaurants
are much more than just dining establishments,
as the founders of Unsukay restaurant group explain
in their cover feature on page 26. They are the places
where we celebrate, gather, fall in love, mourn and
make memories.
Just like that old dining room set, our favorite
restaurants have a few scars and rings from these past
few months, and a few keys might be lost for good.
But they will adapt, and change, and continue to
serve us, as long as we continue to serve them.
Photo by HADLEY(s) Photography 8 COBB LIFE | JULY 2020