A dine-in brick and mortar restaurant was not what Desiree Bagnell was dreaming of when Audrey Winzinger suggested that she consider renting the space at 25 Church Street. The building had the necessary space but needed work to give it the right atmosphere. “What can I do with this?” thought Bagnell. The concrete floors and the plumbing needed renovation. “We completely transformed it”.
Until now, her business model was fully reliant on a catering food truck and delivery business that took off during the pandemic. “People were sick of cooking” said Bagnell, who developed a delivery route to give customers “home cooked meals they could have all week and just heat up”. The food truck is still a major part of her business, but “its primarily for weddings and private events”.
Desiree Bagnell and her husband Paul outside The Grateful Gourmet on 10/5/2025
When I suggested the romantic vision of her food truck parked at a location, serving customers daily, she gave me a healthy serving of reality: “We reached out to somebody who owned a vacant gas station. We would only park there 2 times a week but they wanted $4,000/month”.
My lunch was the “Fried Green Tomato Bennie” which featured “hand carved ham, perfectly poached eggs on a bed of signature pimento cheese and crispy fried green tomatoes topped with house made Hollandaise.” The plate had a seriously ample portion that was so good that I found myself nibbling on what amounted to a second serving. “Desi” called the side on my plate “crispy potatoes”, but honestly, somehow I have never seen fried potatoes like these. Really good.
The Grateful Gourmet’s website [ https://iamthegratefulgourmet.com ] provides an apt summary of what sounds like a mission statement: “The Grateful Gourmet combines the love of comfort food and spins on dishes from European cafe’s all with an eclectic music loving vibe utilizing the freshest local ingredients.”
The restaurant opened about 3 months ago. Its hours are 11-3, Weds through Sunday. You can call Desi at 856-412-0897 if you need catering, food truck or private chef services.