In Saluda, Producer Clay Johnson discovered a restaurant that's become very popular among the locals, and it's called The Purple Onion.

[gentle upbeat music] - [Chambli] I want the customers to hopefully come in here and be greeted with a smile, and they leave here with a smile.

- [Emily Lamar] I want their experience to be warm and inviting.

- [Clay] For its owners, Saluda's Purple Onion restaurant is about carrying on a tradition.

Susan and Lynn Casey started the tradition when they opened it in 1998 as a coffee house and cafe serving breakfast and lunch.

- [Emily Lamar] And it really just kind of took off from there.

- [Clay] A year later, The Purple Onion added dinner and live music.

- Their vision was to create a gathering place for this community where people could eat good, healthy food, listen to live music, and be together.

- [Clay] Susan's daughter, Emily, and her business partner, Chambli Stuber, took over the restaurant in 2020.

- We definitely carry those traditions, moving forward, because they are so important to what this place is.

- Wipe as you go.

Don't wipe on the floor.

- [Clay] Stuber is the executive chef, working with a tight staff in a tight kitchen.

- [Chambli] I enjoy what I do and who I do it with, so cooking is part of my life.

I cook just as much at home as I do in my restaurant.

- [Clay] She calls her menu Mediterranean inspired.

- Mediterranean is very fresh.

It's very local, clean, healthy.

And that's definitely where we go with our menu, but it definitely has a southern flair to it as well.

I grew up eating the southern food, so that's what I'm comfortable with, but I also try to keep it healthy, keep it clean.

We don't have a deep fryer in our kitchen.

We never will.

Trying to keep to those clean, fresh flavors.

- [Clay] And trying to stay organic.

- That's definitely important, even with our wine list.

We try to use as much local as possible.

What's in season dictates our menu.

- [Clay] From appetizers.

- [Chambli] This is a roasted beet and bruleed burrata with toasted rosemary focaccia.

- [Clay] To entrees.

- This is a Sunburst mountain trout.

It's topped with toasted almonds.

It's over a sweet potato, butternut squash, and Yukon potato hash with dry chorizo.

And then it's topped with a coriander and mint relish.

- [Clay] And The Purple Onion makes its own desserts.

- [Chambli] This is tiramisu layered with pastry cream and sponge cake topped with whipped cream.

- [Clay] There are craft cocktails too.

- [Chambli] This is the Smoky Mountain.

It's our signature bourbon cocktail.

It's made with Maker's Mark, blackberry, and lemon.

- We get people from Charlotte and Atlanta and Greenville and all over the place.

Susan really did create a destination here that people love to experience.

Our regulars are what makes this place super special to me.

I love creating those relationships.

- [Clay] Regulars like Scott and Barbara Cardais who've been coming here almost every week for nearly 15 years.

- Because it's the hub, almost, of the community.

It's just a wonderful, relaxing place to come.

- We feel like family here, and really the ladies and the staff treat you so well.

And they're very caring, and it's very sincere.

So it's fun.

It's a fun place to come.

- I think our locals think of it as a gathering place and a place to listen to great live music.

Now let's hear it for The Wilder Flower.

[customers cheer and applaud] [upbeat music] We always have a fantastic lineup every Thursday and Saturday night, and then we do concerts on Sunday nights.

[upbeat music] The vibe in here is beautiful.

I call it the heartbeat of The Purple Onion.

We love taking care of our customers.

My staff loves taking care of our customers.

We love getting to know them.

And I think that's something really special about this place, is that each of our customers become kind of a Purple Onion family.

- The Purple Onion is located at 16 East Main Street in Saluda, and they're open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday.

For more information, give them a call at 828-749-1179, or go online to purpleonionsaluda.com.