Rosie Blount

Rosie’s Kitchen is back and so is her good cooking and her unique hair styles and colors.

“That’s just me,” she laughed. “I like it and the customers who ate at my last restaurant enjoyed seeing

me change the color of my hair from occasion to occasion,” she said.

Rosie Mount is taking over the now vacant Country Roads Restaurant at 205 Joel Blvd., and the Harrell

family has moved from that site to the restaurant on the northern corner of the Publix Shopping Center

Rosie is back: Rosie Mount, better known just as “Rosie” will open up Rosie’s Kitchen within two weeks. She operated a restaurant in Lehigh for several years and is now going back into the restaurant business. Shown here at the 205 Joel Blvd. site from left are Dewey Tyler, owner of the building; Mike Armstrong, who is working on the interior of the new eatery, Rosie, who will do most of the cooking as she did before; and her well-known sister, Mary Breeyear, who will tend tables and help out in the Photo by Mel Toadvine

on Homestead Rd.

“Same good food, different place,” quipped family business owner Bill Harell, who with family help,

does most of the cooking. Working with him is his wife, Diane, and other members of the family.

Rosie is one of Lehigh’s most “colorful” characters – literally – and for the past six years she has been

working at other restaurants, but her dream has always been to get back into the restaurant business.

Country Roads Cafe changes location: Bill and Diane Harrell, owners of Country Roads Cafe Downtown are reopening their family restaurant in the Publix Shopping Center on the north end. Shown at their new restaurant, they have moved from a site on Joel Blvd., that will be replaced by Rosie’s Kitchen. Photo by Mel Toadvine

She’s had plenty of encouragement from well-wishers and friends.

She was located for years in the Winn-Dixie shopping center before the owners made plans in 2003 to

close her and other restaurants down for a new project, but the plan fizzled, but Rosie had already

shut down.

“Now, I’m ready to get back into full swing,” she laughed. “I hope my followers, those who always ate

at my other restaurant will come and see me again. I think they will,” she said.

“My average price for a meal will be around $7.95,” she said. And for the time being, she is talking to

suppliers, and having some changes made at the 205 Joel Blvd. site inside the Chac Truong Tyler

Business complex. Mike Armstrong is doing the changes for Roisie, so when the restaurant opens,

everyone will recognize it as Rosie’s Kitchen again.

Rosie knows the Harrell family and has eaten at their restaurant before they moved and had good

things to say about them.

And likewise, Bill and Diane Harrell had good things to say about Rosie.

The owner of the Tyler business complex made the opportunity available for Rosie to open her new

restaurant after it was vacated by the Harrell family.

“I thought it was a natural,” said Dewey Tyler, owner of the complex on Joel Blvd.

“I can’t wait to eat my lunches there as often as I can,” he laughed. “Maybe even breakfasts.”

Rosie says she tentatively plans to open on Sept. 21. The kitchen’s already there with its appliances,

but she has to get a permit and make sure everything is okay. She also has to re-establish herself with

food suppliers.

She said there will be five people working in her restaurant, including herself.

And one of those is her sister, Mary Breeyear, because of her antics at Rosie’s Kitchen back a few years

ago.

“She is funny the way she handles the people who come to heat. If they are a little rough on her as a

server, she can come back on them,” she laughed.

“It’s all in fun. Once, she brought three bucket of lima beans to clients who wanted them for lunch, but

couldn’t wait for them to be prepared.

“She told them that they could could shell the beans out to help out, and the people did. They knew

her and it was all fun,” Rosie laughed.

Both restaurants are known for their “down home cooking,” and that won’t change, owners of both

said.

“And I think there are enough people in Lehigh to support all the restaurants here,” Rosie said. “We’re

good on our prices and I feel good about starting off again,” she said.

Country Roads Cafe Downtown at 1344 Homestead Rd. is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a

week.

And Rosie says her restaurant will be open Monday to Saturday from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 7 a.m.

to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

“We’ll be serving breakfast and lunch,” she said.

There will be a ribbon cutting by the Lehigh Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the re-opening of its

member, Country Roads Cafe Downtown later this month.

Harrell said they moved to a little larger site that will seat 86 people. Rosie’s Kitchen, when opened will

seat 65.

Be ready for Rosie’s hair to be orange because of upcoming Halloween. Then get ready for an

interesting brown color for Thanksgiving and then maybe green for Christmas.

“It’s all in fun,” Rosie said. “I might even get my mohawk back. People said they liked that look on me,”

she laughed.