Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen

GOOD EATS: CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN

‘A True Homecoming’

By Rick Allen

Long-rumored to be coming to a prime location on SR200, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen has opened its very busy doors across from an equally busy car dealership. And, yes, it’s on busy SR200, but those delicious honey butter croissants and piled-high onion rings are worth every minute of the wait.

The first time I heard about Cheddar’s was in a conversation with Ken DePasquale, owner of the beloved original Carmichael’s and a veteran restaurateur tuned in to Marion County’s culinary scene better than anyone I know. It would be out on College Road, across from Sullivan Buick, GMC Cadillac, he said. Sensing a scoop, I contacted the chain’s press office for confirmation. What came back was a tepid, “maybe, maybe not, certainly not any time soon, probably not” response. That was some six years ago.

Fast forward to early November 2018 and Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen opened its doors in Ocala—on College Road across from Sullivan no less— to great fanfare.

“The community,” says Managing Partner Ashley Norman, “has really welcomed us with open arms.”

ABOUT CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN— Cheddar’s prides itself on producing meals that are fresh-made when ordered. That’s where the “scratch kitchen” comes in. And it 44 OCALA’S GOOD LIFE retirement redefined all started 40 years ago in Arlington.

Ashley said she was a fan of the eatery even before she joined the management team five years ago. One night during pregnancy, she woke up at 4am craving chicken tenders.

“My husband said, ‘Well, then, go make some.’ I said, ‘No, I wanted Cheddar’s chicken tenders.’” They’re that good? “Well,” she answers, “we were the first ones in line the next morning.”

NEVERENDING MENU—The choices are staggering. Inside the 11-by-17-inch menu are more than 50 options: appetizers, soups, salads, chicken, steaks, seafood, and comfort food. Then there’s the other side.

Moreover, the menu is tweaked every few months for seasonal tastes. For instance, currently “new” are Texas- Sized Nachos, Chicken Tender Parmesan, Blackened Salmon & Shrimp, and “Better Than Mom’s” Meatloaf, which they were out of the day I was there. “It’s really popular,” said our server, Chelsea Sharp.

BUT WHERE’S THE CHEESE?— Despite its name, Cheddar’s is not cheese-oriented. “We’re not a fondue restaurant,” Ashley says of a common misconception. Rather, it’s upper-end casual dining with a feel for home.

Then why “Cheddar’s?” As the story goes, Ashley explains, one of the Chicken tenders are the top seller for Cheddar’s founders took a selection of possible names for a new restaurant concept to his child’s elementary school and let the kids vote on them. “Cheddar’s” won.

DON’T MISS— The aforementioned chicken tenders, the top-seller chainwide (they sell 30 million annually) and locally, and the honey butter croissants, the chain’s second best-seller at 15 million. Let’s not forget the onion rings, a foot-high stack of individually double-battered rings.

“Every time an order goes through the dining room,” Ashley says, “another six orders come in.”

BEST TIME TO GO—Since Cheddar’s opened in Ocala last year, it’s been nonstop popular, with waits sometimes 30 minutes or more. Ashley says the best times to minimize the wait are when the eatery doors open at 11am or during the afternoon lull about 3pm. When my family visited on a Sunday at lunchtime, we were told the wait would be about 35 minutes, but we were seated at the 17-minute mark. They don’t take reservations.

YOU’LL BE IMPRESSED BY—Besides the food, the interior decor. This Cheddar’s is very reminiscent of the original Carmichael’s with its red-brick walls, dark-wood accents, and greenery. If only there was a fireplace dominating one wall... Fireplace aside, the cozy atmosphere is the idea.

“It’s meant to feel like home,” Ashley says. “Cheddar’s is family and it feels like it.”

And it appears to be paying off. There’s already a troupe of return patrons, according to Ashley, because “Better Than Mom’s” Meatloaf at least one from opening week has returned at least once a week since.

FRIENDLY STAFF—If our server is any indication, then Cheddar’s boasts a very friendly staff indeed. Never intrusive, Chelsea nevertheless was right there with a suggestion and a smile.

“Chelsea is a good example of our staff,” Ashley says. When Ashley was hiring for the opening, she was looking for experience, “but more than that I looked for personality, for those personalities that mesh well with each other.” Total staff stands at 165, and on any given shift there are some 20 servers out front and about the same number in the kitchen. “Someone is in the back chopping something [or] battering something all the time.”

OCALA CONNECTION—Ashley says she “jumped at the chance” to open the Ocala unit when it was offered. Her husband is from Ocala and his mother still lives here, so it was a true homecoming.

“I genuinely want this to be as great a restaurant as I can make it,” she adds. “I didn’t come here to be just okay. I came here to be great!”

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen

4065 SW College Road (352) 291-0641

cheddars.com