By Lara Hayes
If you spend time around Lisa Sloan, bring your appetite and lots of energy.
Many locals have tasted Sloan’s cooking at The Engine Room, the Dalton restaurant she and her husband own, since it opened in 2008. The menu features a buffet full of good Southern dishes – fried chicken, cobblers, okra and pineapple-coconut cake – all based on what Sloan grew up cooking with her grandmother, Jewell Crawford, and mom Joyce Flowers.
“Between Mamaw and my mom, they’re the reason I wanted to be in the restaurant business,” said Sloan. “They taught me how to cook. We didn’t have baby sitters growing up. We stayed with Mamaw. I remember being in the kitchen with her around age 4 or 5 making a mess.”
Sloan says Crawford, 87, feels the need to feed anyone who comes to visit – and she has inherited the same urge.
“Cooking is how I show love,” she said. “I like to feed people.”
Although Sloan spent her childhood dreaming of owning a restaurant or becoming a teacher, she began working in the carpet industry following graduation from Southeast High School, staying 18 years.
“I worked in administrative for a small textile company,” she said. “The two owners were good mentors, and I got a lot of my business experience there. They treated me great and with respect. Family always came first. They let me do what I needed to do (for my family). It helped me be a better employer.”
Sloan married her high school sweetheart, Mike, 12 years ago after a seven-year courtship. The couple have two sons, Luke and Will.
Sloan. 36, says although she was really happy working for such supportive bosses, the desire to own a restaurant refused to die. Originally she planned to wait until her bosses retired, but two years ago it seemed like the timing was right to go for it.
“We prayed about it, and everything fell into place,” Sloan said. “Both of the boys were at Dawnville Elementary and I wanted to do it while I was still young enough. It was still a hard decision to make.”
Sloan says she envisioned a spacious, relaxing place where people – especially business people – could talk freely without worrying about others listening in. She also wanted to incorporate Mike’s career as a fireman.
“We were thinking of names, and it came to me that we always hang out in the engine room at the firehouse where the big fire trucks are when we visit,” said Sloan.
To give the building a historical flavor, Sloan lined a wall with old pictures of area firemen and firehouses. When you visit, she says don’t expect anything fancy – just “true Southern food.”
However, the Sloans and their staff can do fancy when called upon.
“We can do prime rib or whatever,” she said. “We can do it all. We do a lot of catering.”
Sloan says she still cooks at home some, but most of the time dinner is usually whatever the restaurant served that day carried home in takeout boxes. One of her New Year’s resolutions is to cook in her own kitchen more often. Her method is somewhat unconventional and comes from confidence after spending years in a kitchen.
“I don’t follow many recipes, and I don’t measure anything,” said Sloan.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and Sunday. The Sloans plan to add Friday evenings beginning this spring.
“We have an excellent staff and good food, which I think keeps people coming back,” she said. “Lots of customers have been with us since day one. We get to know our customers. I’m glad we’re not like a chain.”
But if you think Sloan is satisfied with being a successful restaurant owner, think again. Her heart still holds a special place for schools, and she uses that love to help the staff at Dawnville Elementary with equal intensity.
“When Luke first started at Dawnville, I wanted to be room mom,” said Sloan. “I helped raise money for playground equipment. Then they didn’t have an active PTA, and Bert Coker (the principal at the time) approached me to lead it. I did that for two years, then I switched to school council. I served as a parent representative for two years and now I’m a community representative.”
Sloan adores the school and the community it serves. She says growing up she always had the best teachers and believes Luke and Will have had the same experiences. Mostly she likes being involved and knowing what’s going on.
“It bothers me if I have to say no,” she said. “I take it personally, but I have had to. It was hard. I say yes to the important things.”
That dedication got noticed last September when the Whitfield County school board presented her with a Georgia School Board Association Partnership commendation. Sloan believes she represents many parents who want to be involved but can’t because of work responsibilities or other restrictions. She says there are many ways they can make a difference.
“I work 40 hours a week,” she said. “You don’t have to give up your time to be involved. There are so many different ways. Everyone has a different gift. They just need to learn what that is and utilize it in the schools. Now’s the time to get involved if you have the time.”
She says an hour or two around small children can turn the darkest day completely around.
“If you ever want to get out of a funk, go to a school and spend time with kindergartners,” Sloan laughed. “You never know what’s going to come out of their mouths.”
