Making Memories is a Matter of Taste

How can a fledgling restaurant compete against the ever-growing onslaught of trendy chain restaurants, neighborhood bars and grills, ethnic specialty restaurants, delivery pizza and fast food? Well, setting it a nearly 100-year-old Victorian home that’s on the National Register of Historic places doesn’t hurt.

A Matter of Taste first opened in November 2003 in the historic Lone Beech house in downtown Marion, NC. A feast for the eyes as well as for the palette, A Matter of Taste is managed by Nancy Gopelrud and her husband Harl, who together represent more than 38 years of restaurant and catering experience. The Gopelruds and their daughter also live on the second floor of the 7,000-square-foot residence, which was originally constructed in 1905 by prominent Marion judge Daniel Edward Hudgens.

Hudgens ordered the house out of the Sears Roebuck catalog for about $3,000 in 1903. It came in on a boxcar and was hauled up the hill by donkey and mule teams. The house was completed in 1905 and named Lone Beech, after the single beech tree that sat on the 100-acre property. Plumbing and electricity were added during an expansion to the back of the house in 1915.

The house was occupied by DE Hudgens’ son, Carter, until 1990 when a group of local residents approached Carter Hudgens about renovating the property. They formed a group called Timber Ridge Properties, which raised $100,000 to add a commercial kitchen, add central heating and air and repair the porches which had deteriorated over the years. After Carter died, the ownership of the property passed to one of his sons, who is also part of Timber Ridge Properties. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995 and still contains portraits of the Hudgens family and artifacts from their time living there.

The residence is now home to A Matter of Taste, which began as an off-premise catering company the Gopelruds started seven years ago in downtown Marion. “The owners of the property approached us and said, ‘Nancy, the property has been empty for two years,’ ” Nancy explained. “ ’We really want it to be a friendly, happy place where more folks from the county can enjoy it.” Previously, the Lone Beech property had been home to a fine-dining restaurant named Josephine’s after the original owner’s wife — whose ghost is reputed to still walk the halls of the house.

Today A Matter of Taste offers casual, friendly counter-service and take-out orders Monday through Friday at lunch. In the evenings and on weekends, A Matter of Taste is the staging area for an upscale catering service and special events held in the home and on the grounds.

“We also do special event dinners, called Dinner By Appointment," Nancy explained. “A lot of people can cook well, but it takes a special talent to make a memory.” She’s organized family reunions, anniversaries, office parties scavenger hunts, recreated wedding dinners, and has even recreated a Spanish dinner party for a couple from Spain too ill to return home for their anniversary.“We have done Dinners By Appointment that for as few as two people and for as many as 300,” Nancy said.

One of Nancy’s favorite things is to host family reunions, “ We have this big wraparound porch and grounds,” Nancy said. “And a lot of today's children have never played old timey games badminton of croquet, so we take the opportunity to set up badminton and croquet and the families get to enjoy experiences they've never had.”

The holidays are another busy time for the both the catering service and the home itself. “The Saturday after Thanksgiving we do our holiday open house to collect toys for local children,” Nancy said. “In exchange for a toy, the public can tour the house, which house is decorated 100% in Victorian era Christmas decorations. We have live music. Every room is decorated. We have big Christmas trees. If you ever wanted It's A Wonderful Life at Christmas, this it what it would be like.”

Initially Nancy resisted the offer to run yet another restaurant, but the charms of the Lone Beech home have long since won her over. “It is a legacy and a blessing to be in this house because we get to share a lot of the county history with everyone," Nancy said.

For more information please call Nancy Gopelrud at 659-1157. A Matter of Taste is open for lunch 11:00 am– 2:00 pm Monday through Friday. It is located in the Lone Beech home at 64 Hillcrest Drive in downtown Marion.

by Burt Dellinger