Welcome Table Kitchen and Bakery opens in Morrison

“My husband always said that one day you are going to do a restaurant and I didn’t see it, but as time went on, I saw that it was necessary,” Erica Jones said from a table at the restaurant.

Erica Jones said she was first introduced to the idea of a plant-based diet while attending a health camp in 2017.

“I didn’t think I could do it, but I really enjoyed the fitness camp and said, you know what I want to take on this lifestyle,” she said.

Jones said she decided then that if she was going to be eating healthy, her whole family would be eating healthy.

While Jones was willing to try plant-based alternatives for a healthier lifestyle, she was not willing to compromise on quality and taste.

“That was my thing, and I guess the skill or the talent in transitioning over,” Erica Jones said.

After taking a health class to become more knowledgeable about teaching people about plant-based diets and healthy living, the couple has focused on doing health seminars in Tullahoma and Woodbury.

“We have been going around and then people would always say, ‘so where is your restaurant’ and I would say we don’t have one yet,” Erica Jones said. “Right after our last health seminar in March is when this opportunity came up.”

Ken Jones said he and his wife want Welcome Table Kitchen and Bakery to be more than just a place for community members to eat.

“It is more than just being a restaurant,” he said. “We want it to be more of a lifestyle or health center for people where they can come and learn about different ailments and how to reverse some of these things and how to live a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their family.”

Jones said he feels that the term “plant-based” can be easily misunderstood and may lead to misconceptions about what type of food it really is.

“When people hear plant-based they think of eating grass, well that is not what plant-based means,” he said.

Jones pointed to a photograph of a dish of macaroni and cheese that will be available at the restaurant, saying that while it is still the beloved comfort food, it is a healthier version.

“You don’t miss out on having macaroni and cheese,” Jones said. “You don’t miss out on some of the same tastes of foods>

Erica said a lot of it boils down to viewing food in a different way.

“In a nutshell, what it really is you are allowing food to be medicine,” she said. “Food is medicine for the body.”

For more information, visit the Welcome Table Kitchen and Bakery Facebook page.