COVINGTON, Ga. — It’s 10:59 a.m. on a regular Tuesday morning. One of Newton County’s staples, Stalvey’s Restaurant is just seconds away from opening and a line has already formed outside of the front door. 

At 11 a.m., the door is unlocked and Stalvey’s is open for business. 

Sharon Stalvey — the widow of Jim Stalvey who established the restaurant in 1972 — pointed to the reason why, 52 years later, Stalvey’s remains a hot commodity. 

“This is like home to so many people,” Sharon said. “We have such a loyal clientele. Jim was never as concerned with making the greatest percentage of profit on things as he was making things affordable to people. You can’t be at a special occasion restaurant and make it. I get fussed at a lot that our prices are too low.” 

Jim Stalvey originally opened the restaurant in 1972. He owned and operated various other establishments, including a few in Covington. 

Early in 2023, Jim passed away, but his legacy still remains at the local eating place. So much so that Sharon can still feel Jim’s presence upon entering the restaurant. 

Across the years, Jim accumulated seven notebooks worth of recipes that were all handwritten. Featured among the pages were the skillet of beef, chicken and shrimp, cornbread dressing — which is mostly famous around Thanksgiving and Christmas time — and Stalvey’s various types of cobblers offered. 

Every single recipe came from Jim’s mind, according to Sharon. And now she keeps all of Jim’s recipes in a special place.   

“He had an impeccable pallet,” Sharon said. “I’ve seen specials about people who have extra taste buds that they can taste anything and replicate it. And he could do it. It was just amazing. He could just sit and put something together. He could tell what it needed and what it was lacking. 

“His mind never stopped. Even after he had the stroke, he still talked about another concept and another restaurant. It was just ingrained in him.”  

Another emphasis for Jim was what was placed in the product. That is why he mainly received his produce from Ramsey’s Produce in Covington. Everything from dressings and salads were made in-house as well as everything was battered by hand. 

Helping cook, prepare and serve the food day-to-day is a staff that includes long-time members. 

Stalvey’s general manager, buyer and kitchen manager have worked there for 38 years. The kitchen manager’s aunt worked at Stalvey’s for 46 years and into her 80’s. And, instead of retiring, she came in regularly to help make the cobblers, dressings or wherever else she felt she was needed. 

There have been other family members working alongside each other among the staff, too. 

Above that, though, the entire staff feels like one big family. 

“They could come to us for anything. We just love each other. That’s all there is to it,” Sharon said. “And it shows in what they do. I’m not going to say they’re perfect every day, because none of us are, but they give it their all. They truly care. If you’re good to your employees, they’ll be good to you.” 

Today, Sharon estimates Stalvey’s serves approximately over 2,000 people per week. Some of those people are relatively new to the area, but some are frequent guests. 

When out in the community, Sharon has had interesting interactions with a few of the regulars. 

“It’s funny. They’ll recognize me and they’re like, ‘Where do I know you from?’” Sharon said. “Jim and I were married for 31 years. In here, they know me.” 

Stalvey’s employees have gotten to know many customers, too. 

“I used to laugh when I worked up front a lot. People would come in five days a week and eat the very same meal,” Sharon said. “The servers have such a relationship with the customers that come regularly. They know what they’re going to drink and they’ll go get it before they even go to the table to ask them what they’re going to have.” 

Stalvey’s is located at 3132 U.S. 278 Hwy in Covington. It is surrounded by fast food chains like Hardee’s next door and Chipotle, Dairy Queen and Dunkin’ Donuts across the street. Chick-fil-A is less than a half-mile down the road, too. 

Nevertheless, Stalvey’s is still a local attraction for many. 

It opens daily at 11 a.m. and offers many options for customers seeking a hometown meal, which Sharon believes is still in high demand.

“I know that we have a society of young people that has been raised on fast food. I do think the pandemic brought it home to people more that they needed to be conscious about what they were doing. We don’t buy pre packaged anything. We make our dressings, we batter everything by hand, we do our salads, there’s no gassed lettuce or anything else we use in our restaurants. 

“Jim always prided himself on the quality of what he served. If it wasn’t feasible financially to serve it, then he would take it off the menu until it was.”