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Located just 30 miles from Manchester, Miller’s Grocery in Christiana has been serving up classic southern fare for nearly 30 years, but this cozy down home restaurant is home to more than a century’s worth of history for this small Middle Tennessee community.

Owner Nathan Daniel said he purchased the restaurant in September 2022 along with his parents Joel and Carla Daniel.

“The building is about 120 years old,” Daniel said. “It was a grocery store for 75 years.”

Complete with weathered Coca Cola signs and a classic wood screen door, visitors to Millers Grocery can experience an authentic southern café. While the restaurant is filled with antiques and local history, the food is what it is all about.

“Everything is made from scratch,” Daniel said. “We make our sauces, gravies, breading…we make it all every day.”

Daniel said that while the restaurant does not open until 11 a.m., his first cook is in the kitchen and working by 7 a.m.

Popular menu items include the salmon patties served with a creamy remoulade sauce, fried catfish, fried chicken tenders and meatloaf topped with house made barbeque sauce.

When it comes to desserts, popular choices include house made chocolate pie, coconut pie and red velvet cake.

While there are cheaper ways of doing things, Daniel said he has no interest in cutting corners.

“That is not the Miller’s way,” he said.

A native of Columbus, Georgia and a Rutherford County resident since he was six-years-old, Daniel said he first enjoyed a meal at Miller’s Grocery about seven years ago.

“I used to coach youth football, and we had some parents on there that became friends and they asked us to a friendsgiving out here,” he said.

Daniel would continue to eat at the restaurant over the next few years before the opportunity to purchase it would arise.

“I have always wanted to be in the restaurant business,” Daniel said. “I worked at Cracker Barrel for seven years and I always said if it ever came about, I would dive straight in.”

Daniel said the business is also a true family operation, along with his parents and three children Carson, Aubrey and Hailey, who also work in the restaurant.

Despite its homey atmosphere, operating a restaurant out of a 120-year-old building does have its challenges, he said.

“There are roof issues, heating and cooling,” Daniel said. “It is a tin building so there is not a lot of insulation. I would have to do some major renovations to put insulation in here but then when you do that it changes the whole landscape for the government and codes. I am trying to keep it as original as possible.”

Daniel said his favorite part about owning Miller’s Grocery is being able to hear customers share their memories of visiting not only the restaurant throughout the years, but also from when the building was still the community grocery store.

“Just about every week,” he said. “I came here and bought 5 cent bubblegum or a Coke and peanuts and walked back home.”

Daniel said when it comes down to it, he just wants customers to feel comfortable and be able to enjoy a great meal.

“We want people to feel like they are at grandma’s house,” he said.

Miller’s Grocery is located at 7011 Main St., Christiana and is open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. until 8 p.m.