HOPKINSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — There are few places as hectic as a restaurant right before it opens. But Wednesday was a day Heather and Graham Dawson thought would never come.
Four years ago, Heather always dreamed of serving food and drinks to her hometown of Hopkinsville, so they saved up and renovated an old hardware store on 6th Street. It became The Mixer, a restaurant, bakery, bar, and speak-easy that instantly found a loyal following. "On December 18 of 2019, it opened. Then March 18th it closed," Heather explained.
Like the rest of the world, the owners of The Mixer were forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They survived the shutdown, and business truly started to boom. "We were like, this is amazing. What could go wrong?" Heather said.
Then, on the night of March 31, 2023, a mighty storm came through Hopkinsville. "We just heard Drew screaming, get down get down get down and it sounded like a bomb went off," said Heather, explaining how their bar manager had them on the phone when the storm hit.
It may not have been a bomb, but 90 mph straight-line winds essentially had the same effect. "The wind coming through and literally blowing the entire roof and half the wall," Heather. said
"Three-quarters of the second floor just got sheered off," added her husband Graham.
They wondered if it was worth all the work to reopen. "I just looked at him and said if this is causing too much stress if we’ve got to walk away — I’ll do it," Heather said.
But when the Hopkinsville community saw the images of their restaurant reduced to rumble, donations, and support started pouring in. "We got so many businesses contacting us, supporting us, people sent us money just to help Graham and me out personally," Heather said.
How could they walk away from that? "We knew we just didn’t want to give up because they weren’t giving up on us," she said.
Now, after nine long months of rebuilding, The Mixer is ready to reopen Wednesday night. The Dawsons say it makes all the hectic planning worth every second, especially when their loyal customers finally walk back in. "It was the perfect topper to a very hard year," Graham said.
"If it wasn’t for your support, I don’t know if we could have kept doing this," Heather said.
Be warned, if you want to enjoy The Mixer, you better get a reservation. The Dawsons say for this first week back open, most of their reservations have already been filled.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
