The Local

You might think the Local got its name because owner Sheryl Strong prefers locally sourced ingredients, or because it’s a favorite breakfast and lunch spot among Prescott residents. Both things are true, but they weren’t the inspiration for the name. “I just liked the way it sounded,” Strong says. “I thought it’d be cool to say, ‘We’re going to the Local.’ ”

They’re going to the Local, all right. So many of them, in fact, that Strong and her partners, George and Ellie Singh, recently expanded the restaurant into a larger, brightly colored space next door to its tiny original location. It’s a credit to the food, all of which is made from scratch, but also to Strong’s commitment to her patrons’ experience.

“I always approach it from the customer’s point of view,” she says. “There’s a lot of attention to detail, down to the salt and pepper shakers on the tables. To me, those little things are what make it memorable or special.”

The idea for the restaurant came after Strong had sold her previous venture, the now-shuttered Firehouse Kitchen. She read In Defense of Food, a Michael Pollan book about the importance of non-GMO, filler-free “real food.” “It changed the way I ate,” she says, and she hoped to build a restaurant around the book’s concepts. Years later, after a friend urged her to open a breakfast spot, the Local was born. After a Kickstarter campaign that closed a funding gap, the restaurant opened in April 2015.

There’s plenty of “real food” on the restaurant’s eclectic menu. At breakfast, there’s a big selection of pancakes, including a gluten-free variety; an omelet made with wild-caught smoked salmon, with roasted green beans and cherry tomatoes on the side; and biscuits topped with sausage gravy that’s made with Hatch green chiles.

The burgers on the lunch menu are locally sourced, grass-fed beef, and you’ll want to try the O.K. Corral, which is topped with poblano jelly, sautéed onions and havarti. Other lunch options include a meatloaf and an array of fresh salads. 

Add an ever-changing selection of house-made baked goods and a Prescott Coffee Roasters blend created especially for the restaurant, and it’s easy to see why out-of-towners pack the place on weekends after discovering it on social media.

In other words, consider visiting on a weekday. That’s when you’ll find the locals at the Local.