Boyce General Store is in a sleepy community near Bowling Green, Kentucky, with lots of local love. It closed during the pandemic but recently reopened.
Western New York transplants, Ostroms: Derek, Janette, and their son Jarek fell in love with Kentucky. Lucky for us, they are the new owners of the Boyce General Store. I wish them the best and hope they know they have a friend in South Florida.
Boyce General Store
10551 Woodburn Allen Springs Road
Alvaton, KY
(270) 770-2013
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/BoyceGeneralStore
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/boycegeneralstorellc
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday CLOSED
Wednesday 11:00 am – 7:30 pm
Thursday 11:00 am – 7:30 pm
Friday 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday 7:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sunday CLOSED
1st Visit to Boyce General Store
Time Was Running Out
Marcela, John, and I arrived starved at Boyce General Store 30 minutes before closing time. Our car was running on fumes, but it was more important that we make it here. We could worry about that gas situation later.
Boyce General Store opened in 1869, but it wasn’t until Brad and Brie Golliher purchased it in 2012 that it became a full-fledged restaurant. It also allowed Brie to show off her killer baking skills as The Pie Queen.
There’s one person in front of us while we wait to order, which is always a good thing when you’re a first-timer.
The Pimento Cheeseburger is Special
John spots the specials board and smiles at me. There’s a pimento bacon cheeseburger on there—it’s a done deal. The burger is one-third of a pound, hand-painted, and made from locally sourced beef.
We’re off to what sounds like a fantastic start in a burger fairy tale book. Properly cooked bacon and a slab of their housemade pimento cheese (one of the loves in my life) round out this beauty.
I was in heaven.
After eating, we talked with Brad and Brie. They talked me into—well, maybe more like they sold me on why I needed to try the BBQ ham cold-cut sandwich.
I was full, but this excellent fella made a great travel companion on our way to Lexington. Unfortunately, I never made it to the destination. Afterward, we had a fantastic conversation about Boyce, its history, her baking, and my Burger Museum.
They then donated a couple of old cola bottles from a local bottling plant that is unfortunately no longer around and a book about Kentucky Eat.
I wasn’t expecting that they also wanted to add a 40-year-old Coca-Cola sign (which once hung outside Boyce General Store) to my collection.
When I think about it now, I’m still blown away by the kindness and generosity. I can’t wait to revisit Boyce General Store for some authentic Southern Hospitality and excellent food cooked with love.
See you soon, my friends. I promise.
Hamburger House Party 2018
We became fast friends, and the following year, they made the 15-hour drive to Miami to compete at my Hamburger House Party in 2018.
The ball was now in my court.
A Return to Boyce General Store for a Book Signing
When writing the chapter on Burger Regional Specialties for my book All About The Burger, I mentioned my love for Boyce General Store‘s Pimento Burger, which they affectionately call the Pig-Mento.
Marcela and I were dying to see them again, and I needed to get my hands on that Pig-Mento, so Boyce General Store became the first stop on my book signing road trip.
As luck would have it, the Friday of our book signing was the same night they hosted their weekly fish fry.
I’m not a big seafood guy, but it was good.
It was a perfect event. I was reunited with the Pig-Mento, got to hang with Brie and Brad, met some folks, made new friends, signed some books, and then enjoyed the incredible Chess Pie that Brie, aka the Pie Queen of Bowling Green, made.
Also, I need to thank Charlie Durham for donating a box of McDonaldland toys from the late 1970s and early 1980s to my Burger Museum collection.
Brie continues to focus her energies on the Pie Queen brand.