Restaurant celebrates grand re-opening
Tom’s Place had a grand re-opening Friday, March 23, at its new restaurant, which is located at 27351 Highway 127 in Tamms.
Tom’s Place, a local restaurant owned by Tom Riston, has been in operation since March of 2012 in the Village of Tamms.
In the fall of 2015, Riston determined that the business had outgrown the original location and made the decision to construct a new building to increase the size and visibility of the restaurant.
The expansion was partially funded by an Alexander County Intermediary Relending Program small business loan program.
During construction, it was discovered that the Village of Tamms’ sewer lines did not extend through the town to the new Tom’s Place restaurant and the village did not have funds available to install new sewer lines.
Southern Five Regional Planning District & Development Commission prepared and submitted an application on behalf of the village for a USDA Rural Development Rural Business Development Grant to extend the sewer lines.
The Village of Tamms was awarded $14,400 by USDA to complete the sewer line extension through the village to the new location of Tom’s Place.
Southern Five Regional Planning District and Development Commission congratulated Riston on the opening of his new restaurant.
Although there were setbacks regarding infrastructure, Riston and the Village of Tamms did not give up and continued working together to ensure that the restaurant would continue to be an asset to the community.
Tom's Place has five employees. Hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.