Auten's, A Family Restaurant brings home-cooked flavor to the Southside

Auten's, A Family Restaurant is bringing a little home-cooked flavor to The Village at Whiskey Shopping Center.

Located at 969 Pine Log Road, in the space formerly occupied by Formosa, owners Frankie and Sharon Auten opened the restaurant on July 27.

Auten's is open for breakfast from 6 to 10 a.m. and lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. from Monday through Saturday.

"We serve three meats, six vegetables, a salad bar and desserts, and the menu varies each day," said Sharon. "It's home-cooked food, not just stuff out of a can, but seasoned and prepared fresh daily. We also have a couple of specialty items."

"One of our specialties is the ABC, which stands for 'Auten's Breakfast Cup,'" said Frankie. "It's so good."

The couple, who moved to Aiken from Calhoun Falls three months ago, operated K&A Favorite Food in Calhoun Falls for 12 years. They had discussed retiring to Aiken, according to Frankie but, with the current economic downturn, decided to stay in business here.

The Autens have decorated the restaurant with a schoolhouse theme. Educational bulletin board posters and cutouts, stickers, rulers, notebooks and other vintage school supplies adorn the walls and booths, slate chalkboards bear the specials and are available for children's drawings, and there is a schoolroom display with a teacher's desk and student desks.

"The only thing we could think of that everybody has in common is that everybody went to school. So our decor hopefully brings back some good school memories," Frankie said. "We're in the market for a few more old student desks and old school memorabilia."

The Autens plan to hold a grand opening celebration but have not made firm plans for the event yet. Customers have been discovering them steadily since the restaurant opened, however.

"Most of our people are saying it's excellent," Frankie said.

"We've had one lady come back every day this week and brought different people with her every time," Sharon added.

Breakfast prices range from $3 to $6, and lunch plates go for $5 to $7. The restaurant offers dine-in and take-out service and accepts cash and major credit cards. It is also a Wi-Fi Internet hotspot, and laptops are welcome.

The menu is available and updated daily online at www.autensofaiken.com.

For more information or to place a take-out order, call Auten's at 502-1307.

Contact Suzanne Stone at sstone@aikenstandard.com.