Tony Keech has worn a lot of hats in his day – and still does. The former Beaufort County sheriff’s deputy and probation officer is now a part-time Williamston police officer and U.S. marshal. Keech said he always knew one of those hats would eventually be a business owner.
“I’ve always wanted to work for myself. It’s the American dream,” Keech said as he stood at the counter of his
restaurant, Plantation House.
Keech did not start with dreams of owning a restaurant, though he grew up cooking. After graduating from Washington High School, he earned an associate degree in mechanical engineering. The restaurant has benefitted from that degree. Keech spent Tuesday afternoon repairing his sandwich station’s refrigeration unit.
“It’s nothing but screws,” he laughed.
Keech started his path in law enforcement by earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Mount Olive College. He called law enforcement a fun career that he might, one day, return to full-time.
For now, Keech is enjoying the challenge of running a business.
If you haven’t been to the Plantation House in the past six months, you haven’t been. Since Keech opened those doors last May, he has tripled the size of the menu, expanded the hours and started making about 99 percent of the food from scratch.
“As a matter of fact, our French fries are cut in-house,” Keech said. “As soon as I switched from crinkled fries to cut potatoes, people could tell the difference. They love them.”
Another favorite is the homemade Plantation House pimento cheese, served in the morning in toasted pimento cheese sandwiches and as a sandwich addition on the lunch menu.
Breakfast-menu additions include four types of omelettes, each under $5, stacks of pancakes for less than $4 and a-la-carte items like country ham and, of course, freshly cut breakfast potatoes.
The stars of the morning menu are the cheese biscuits. Keech said he has been told a number of times that his cheese biscuits are the best in town.
Keech added a host of daily specials to the lunch menu. He likes to mix things up with a list of monthly specials, items that are not on the regular menu like his month’s chicken marinara flatbread. When items do well as monthly specials, Keech makes room for them on the ever-expanding menu. Plantation House’s popular Philly cheese steak started out as a monthly special.
He also added about a half dozen burgers. This list includes turkey, veggie and curry chicken.
“The Plantation curry chicken burger and the Plantation barbecue hamburger are both excellent,” he said.
Keech expanded his hours to accommodate customers who complained there weren’t enough restaurants open Sundays. His new hours are Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plantation House is located at 2289 W. Fifth St., Suite 600.
For more information, call 948-3600, visit plantationhousenc.com or find it on Facebook.