Wilson Cafe plans sprout organically

Joe Cartwright, 33, was managing The Elegant Farmer in Memphis when John Faulkner contacted the restaurant seeking a chef for a cafe in northeast Arkansas.

"I've always wanted to live in the country, and I've always wanted my own little restaurant," Cartwright says.

A few days later, he dined with Gaylon Lawrence in a winding white house, constructed wing-by-wing by generations of Wilsons. Lawrence promised Cartwright rent-free accommodations and cafe renovations. Now the Wilson Cafe feeds about 80 people a day at $8 an entree and supports a staff of 15. Lawrence owns the building, but Cartwright owns the business.

Eventually Cartwright hopes to be a farm-to-table operation, with another Lawrence-fueled project, Wilson Community Gardens, supplying produce.

Agronomist Leslie Wolverton, 29, moved to Wilson from Oxford, Miss., about two months ago.

Wolverton knew Cartwright because she worked at the farm that supplies The Elegant Farmer.

"He texted me one day and asked, would you be interested in moving to small-town Arkansas to start a farm? ... I never expected to be driving back to Mississippi thinking, wow, I really want to do that," she says.

Lawrence offered Wolverton a paycheck, a rent-free cottage, four acres for an organic garden and more land later. In addition to supplying the cafe, and she hopes, other area restaurants, her produce will be sold at a farm stand. The garden will also provide an outdoor classroom for the proposed private school.

"You wonder if this thing is going to work, then you get 15 minutes with Gaylon and you just know," Cartwright says. "I've had to turn away and take a deep breath ... to continue a conversation with him, because he's so genuine."

Locals have been friendly, but Cartwright feels a bit of "insulation." He's unsettled by the fact that his clientele is primarily white.

"There's people in this town that have the perception that this is an unapproachable restaurant," he says. "I need everybody to eat at my restaurant."

Wilson Cafe is at 2 N. Jefferson St. Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, and 5-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; call (870) 655-0222.

Style on 05/25/2014

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