By Wil Crews
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From the owners of Susie K’s to Opelika, a new restaurant offers a “spicy” version of American cuisine.
Next Level Café, offering breakfast all day and serving lunch and dinner, is located in one of Opelika’s historic neighborhoods at 1006 1st Ave. in what was once Jim Bob’s downtown restaurant.
The creation of the restaurant came from owners Tim and Suzanne Lowry, who decided to transform the fried chicken restaurant into something more upscale.
“Our whole thing has always been wanting to be ourselves, what we want, what inspires us,” Suzanne said. “Advancing to the next level is where Next Level comes from…so we want to take the food and elevate it in a way.”
The newly renovated restaurant offers creative takes on traditional American dishes like pork chops, chicken and waffles, French toast, salads, burgers and more.
To bring their culinary vision to life, the Lowrys brought in local chef and owner of Obsidian Catering, Jeremy Vines, to train the kitchen staff.
“The concept is going to look like an upscale restaurant,” Suzanne said. “It’s really good food. There’s no one else who’s going to make the food we make. We try to be a good price.
Next Level Café is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., with extended hours on Friday and Saturday. Dinner entrees begin at 4 p.m. They’ll offer delivery through Grub Hub and Uber Eats, and as a member of the Opelika Chamber, they’ll have a ribbon cutting in the coming weeks.
For more information about Next Level Café, visit its Facebook page at @NextLevelCafe.
