A Family Operation: Forester Welcomes Community to 6th And Main
Longtime North Wilkesboro restaurant changes to survive quarantine
NORTH WILKESBORO-It started in August of 2001, when Heather Forester’s uncle first opened the doors to the restaurant now called 6th and Main. From that day, the building at 210 6th Street in North Wilkesboro has been a family operation, offering a unique menu to anyone who comes in. This is a place where you can enjoy lobster mac and cheese or try some wasabi mashed potatoes, discovering the unique creations developed by the chef. In regular times, the menu rotates almost nightly. While the recent quarantine forced Forester to limit the menu, it hasn’t taken away the joy the West Wilkes graduate finds from interacting with people.
“I’m not a sit-at-a-desk kind of girl,” Forester said. “This is so much better than sitting at a desk all day. I worked for a while at Lowes Corporate Offices and found that out. I was working there when my uncle opened this restaurant and offered me a part-time job.”
Forester took the offer, eventually leaving Lowes to work at the restaurant full-time. She started out waiting tables and kept taking on more responsibility until her uncle asked if she wanted to run the operation. Eight years later, Heather and her husband Jimmy have turned the old house into a mainstay of North Wilkesboro’s restaurant scene. If you go on social media, you’ll find people tagging either Heather or the restaurant’s Facebook page, thanking her and the staff for great food. But as much as some things change, others remain the same.
“I still wait tables,” Heather Forester said. “I know some people may think I’m crazy, but I love that personal interaction with customers. You get to meet so many people that way.”
While the governor’s order shut down all dine-in service, 6th and Main is still offering curbside pickup orders. Heather said she preferred to look on the positive side, as things could be a lot worse. She said she’s happy to still be able to keep the doors open and to offer some unique experiences to the community. Last week, she put out a call to pre-order Easter baskets created by the staff. The response was so overwhelming she had to stop taking orders last Thursday. Beyond launching new ideas, the current situation also has Heather and her culinary staff experimenting with food, offering some things for the first time.
“We’re learning some new things right now,” Heather said. “We’re trying out some casseroles, some soups. Based on the response, there’s a couple things we may continue once this is over.”
Because of the quarantine, 6th and Main will take overs through phone calls at 336–903–1166, emails to 6thandmain@gmail.com or texts to 336–978–7944. Curbside pickups will be done in the back parking lot. You can find out more of the restaurant’s daily menu on their Facebook page here. The one thing Heather asks is that people call in any pre-orders by 1 p.m. That way the staff will have time to make sure the orders are done by 4 p.m. the same day. Even with the challenges caused by the COVID-19 virus, Heather said she’s happy to be running a restaurant right now.
“I’m thankful to still be able to be doing what we’re doing,” Heather said. “Really, I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
Brian Carlton is the editor of NWNC Magazine. He can be reached at brian@nwncmagazine.com.
