Gray’s newest restaurant is a dream come true for its owner, who has three decades of experience in the business and a devotion to home cooking.
Trinabell’s Diner had a soft opening May 15 and officially opened for business Saturday. The owner of the restaurant is Trina Earwood Hathaway.
The diner is located at 115 W. Clinton Street, the former home of Chevy’s Pizza that closed in September of last year. The building has been renovated inside and out.
Trina is originally from North Carolina but moved here in 1982. She started in the restaurant business as a server and worked at Chevy’s Café on Highway 49 for 20 years. That is where she met Tom Turner.
“She taught me everything I know,” the owner said.
Trina worked at Chevy’s Pizza for 10 years. She said she began looking for a place to open a small restaurant the first of this year.
“This opportunity opened up, and here we are,” she said. “I began as a server, then manager and now owner.”
She said she spent 15 years working in the medical field but even then continued to work as a part-time server.
Trina said owning a restaurant has been her dream since she was a little girl. She said she played restaurant and would get in trouble for using her mother’s good China.
The menu for Trinabell’s goes back to her roots. Her father died when she was 10, making her mother a single parent of three children.
“It’s a lot from my mama,” she said. “We always had home-cooked meals. She told me, ‘If you don’t learn to cook, you’ll starve to death.’” Trina said the diner’s menu is focused on country cooking.
“Where I came from, we grew what we ate. That was lots of vegetables,” she added.
And the name Trinabell?
“That’s a nickname that caught on,” she said.
Trina’s husband’s Paul Hathaway is a Gray Police Officer, and he is the one who gave her the nickname.
The owner said the restaurant has an estimated 20 employees, most of whom work part time. There are four fulltime employees, including restaurant manager Ashley Walters.
Trina said Tom is working part-time.
“That’s whenever and how much she wants to,” she said.
Paul said he will still be working for the Gray PD but will help at the restaurant when needed.
The restaurant’s hours of operation are 11a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All menu items are available for carry out, and breakfast could be in the future. The number to call for carryout orders or for more information is 478-936-7718.
