Imagine dining in an old gas station where the chef spent 9 years as a bombardier officer in a B-52. Hard to believe? Maybe, but Open Table named The Copper Door (http://thecopperdoor.com/) as one of America’s top 100 restaurants in 2014. Here’s Copper Door’s back story. After graduating culinary school in New Orleans, Chef Dennis Barber became a certified chef while paying his dues and gaining experience. He was even handpicked to cook for President and Mrs. Reagan during the GOP Convention in New Orleans. After twenty years in the kitchen, Chef Dennis left the business for the corporate world. It was a short-lived break and he soon longed to return to his passion for culinary arts. Thanks to friends who believed in his dreams, he was able to perform the construction and remodeling that turned an old gas station in Hayesville, North Carolina into a true culinary destination. The American Dream lives on in Hayesville, N.C.
