Choo Choo Cafe

Better than local fast food. Great place to enjoy a simple filling meal while conversing with family and friends. Beautiful decorated and genuinely caring staff.

Delicious homemade food. Great soup, sandwich, desserts and a wonderful ambiance. My husband had the Reuben and loved it and also the orange delight cake.
I had a ½ chicken salad sandwich — it was delicious and made fresh that morning with a bit of pineapple and pecans. The bread was warm and toasted. It came with homemade pinto bean soup, the soup of the day !
We sat in a small alcove with a beautiful floral painting and various antiques.
The service was great and the prices reasonable. I definitely hope to return when I get back to Erwin, Tennessee.

Mediocre. Stopped here on our way through town while on vacation; we were looking for something different than the typical fast food for lunch. Our family was hoping for more trains for the kids and didn’t except the antique store. Not very kid friendly.
It’s a seat yourself and serve yourself drinks, but there’s no signage indicating so. The owner was busy preparing food and didn’t notice us — with 3 hungry boys — until I asked what we should do. The food was okay but obviously made from packaged foods and not homemade as advertised. I expected at least homemade breads, not sandwiches I could slap together myself.

We had a delightful lunch. I had the special Ruben which was the best I can remember in a long time. My husband had homemade chicken salad on rye. He said it was delicious. While we were just traveling through and construction in the downtown area made it a little difficult to find, I would definitely go back again. The inside is very charming and eclectic. This is a diamond in the rough.

Once in awhile business travel gives you a great surprise and today was one of those days. Little town of Erwin, TN. I’d never been there before today. I had to step out for lunch and did a Unilocal search, not expecting to find much but there was the Choo Choo Café. OMG what a find! It’s in an old furniture store and the woman (yes…one woman) who runs and operates the café has it set up like a furniture store… all kinds of different tables and chairs all over the place amongst different antiques and of course, the most darling Dickens
Village and other Dept 56 villages with trains weaving through them. A kid would lose their mind looking at all if this. You just pick your table and check out the small but wonderful menu of lunch fare, then you can go help yourself to a drink. The whole time the lady who owns the place hustles all over taking care of everyone. She had about 6 tables when I was there and she takes orders, prepares the food and checks on everyone. Amazing.
I had the sundries tomato turkey sandwich with fresh lettuce and tomato on toast and also the prettiest salad. A bag of chips comes with the sandwich and one of those little sleeves of Ritz crackers with the salad. That made me smile… my husband is a Ritz-​o-​phile, he’d have loved it (see the picture). Everything was delicious! I was texting my fellow traveling chemistry nerds bragging about my lunch (seriously we end up in some real holes sometimes) and the vote was I had to try dessert so I did. Orange cake… yum.
I wish I could go to lunch everyday here. You other business travelers understand. This makes up for every time I’ve had to go to some crappy Chili’s or worse, a walmart grocery store to get lunch. Woo Hoo for Choo Choo

Had a birthday lunch for my aunt today. The food was great and the service was too. The Chicken and Rice was divine. We had orange, chocolate, and coconut cake. They were all moist and sinful. Thanks to Brenda and her staff.

After a few laps around town we ended up at this very different type of let’s say kitchen, with multiple dining areas. It was a one woman show. There was 6 sandwiches on the menu, a couple of deserts and dinner was by request only. She took the orders then went to a kitchen that look like it could have been in anybody’s home. The place was decorated with an interesting array of Christmas décor, and lots of strange Antiques. The tables and chairs are older, and all set up in there own semi private area with matching décor. Some of the items were even for sale. The food was very good, the atmosphere kept us busy looking around and talking about it. If your ever in the area, and just want a decent home made soup, sandwich and some chips check it out! It was very creative and I applaud the owner for doing what she loves!

So cute inside! Friendly owners, beautifully decorated, great food! Very charming place. I love it!

Stopped for lunch while passing through. Very cute café on Main St. Very friendly staff. Had the chili and turkey sandwich which were both excellent and freshly hand made.

Driving back from Hayesville, NC, we happened upon this quaint café. You felt you had entered a time warp that put you back in the mid– 20^th century. The owner couldn’t have been nicer and the food was tasty and very reasonable.

My wife and I like the Choo Choo Café very much. We like the food. We like the owner, Brenda. We like browsing around the antiques and looking at the models — there are boat models, a Bavarian mountain village model (at Christmastime no less, with working gondolas), models of the town of Erwin in the 1920s. Her prices are very reasonable. You sit at a table that was made in the early 1900s, you have sandwiches and a drink, home made desserts. It is a venue for music most weekends, usually blue grass. Brenda runs the place by herself, does everything, and she’s an artist in all she does. She’s a sweet southern lady. I’ve only had pleasant times here. Like visiting a gracious and beautiful aunt…
UPDATE 2014: Now accepts credit cards, debit cards. Also has bottled beer for sale with your meal.

We were there for the Apple Festival and ate lunch and dinner here. We enjoyed the atmosphere and felt that the food was good and prices reasonable.