Those who regularly travel from Athens to West Limestone along Alabama 99 may have been intrigued by a small renovation project near Tillman Mill Road. In fact, according to the owners, several have — and the ones with time to stop often leave excited by what they learn.

2021 will be the year a new cafe makes its home in a fully renovated building that has housed a number of beloved community restaurants since the 1970s, and while owner Mike Holt didn’t purchase the building with those expectations, he’s grown just as excited about opening the cafe in January.

“The more he worked on it, the more he was like, ‘Oh, I might do this,'” Holt’s wife, Jan, said.

The restaurant, named Mike’s, will be open 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Customers can dine in, take their food to go or enjoy their meal in the outdoor dining area. Mike plans to offer a full country breakfast, hamburger steaks starting at 11 a.m., a variety of ice cream dishes throughout the day and a special dinner item each night.

During the first part of the week, the dinner item might be anything from stew or chili to spaghetti or chicken, and it’ll change depending on the season or community interest. However, Saturdays are set for catfish, and Fridays are “reserve ribeye” nights.

“If you want a ribeye on Friday night, you call us Monday or Tuesday, and you reserve that ribeye,” Mike said. “We’ll have it here, ready to cook, or have it ready for you to eat or take out.”

Perhaps one of the most special items, though, will be a burger in honor of the man who first opened a restaurant in the building and who also happens to be Jan’s dad. The Holts explained Jan’s parents were among the original owners of Christo’s Dari-Delite in Lester, then of Snipe’s on Alabama 99.

Jan joked that when Mike first mentioned opening a restaurant, she told him she had “put in her time” at Christo’s. Watching her husband’s pride and excitement about the project has her excited now, too, and her dad, now 91, is looking forward to training incoming cooks on how to make the perfect Snipe’s Burger, to be served exclusively at Mike’s.

“He has a particular way he likes his hamburgers,” Jan said of her dad. “That’s how he cooked them at Christo’s and here (at Snipe’s).”

The family ties and atmosphere don’t stop there, either. Jan’s brother, Skip Christopher, has been very hands-on in the project, and Mike said they’ll have Camellia, formerly of Camellia’s Restaurant in Tanner, as one of their main cooks.

“We want folks working with us, not for us,” Mike said, adding they’ll start interviews next week for additional staff.

Other updates to the restaurant space include awnings on the front and back, an additional window for more natural lighting, cedar and blue pine throughout the building, extra dining space inside, a drive-thru window and extended porch areas. The Holts plan to have cornhole boards on one side for families and friends to entertain themselves, plus swings near the front dining area.

As the weather warms, they hope to invite musicians out for live performances on the back porch. Mike has also considered adding other amenities to the area so customers can best enjoy the sunset views.

“We have some of the prettiest sunsets here you’ll ever see,” he said. “You can’t find them no better.”

One of his favorite features, though, beyond the original 1978 service windows or the all-new appliances, is the sign out front. The design had been on a post outside his shop for a while, he said, a simple logo with his initials.

Jan took a photo of it and sent it to a friend who does metalwork. The finished sign features not just Mike’s initials but the name “Mike’s” around the top and “Est. 2020” along the bottom. They hung it up while Mike was running an errand one day, as a surprise gift in celebration of the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary last month.

“It was the best present I ever got, as far as something personal to me,” Mike said.

The renovation has taken longer than he expected, and there’s still a few more weeks to go, but Mike said he’s already blown away by the support they’ve received from the community as everyone anticipates opening day.

“We have had so much support,” he said. “My family, our friends, people we don’t even know — I’m humbled and overwhelmed at how much support we’ve had. … I’ll come up here, and there’s just people walking around the building.”

He doesn’t mind, either, because it gives him a chance to chat with them and share the restaurant with someone new.

“Our community is excited,” Mike said. “They’re blowing and honking (their horns as they drive by), and on Facebook, they’re blowing me up. I’ve got friends I never knew in this community.”

“It’s been amazing, it really has, to see how hard he’s worked and see his ideas coming together,” Jan said.

“I’m real close,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to the community being together.”

Those interested in learning more about the restaurant or applying for a position on its staff can reach Mike at 256-777-4125.