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A love of the food industry developed early for a young Brent McAfee when he was only in high school. His first job was waiting tables at Sullivan’s diner, a small diner/café up in Knoxville, TN as a teenager.

Fast-forward and the now native Texan is looking to bring his own flavor to Kingsville, with the opening of the town’s latest lunch establishment, Peyton’s Café and Catering.

From waiting tables in high school to managing a restaurant bar in college, McAfee did all that was possible to learn the ropes of the food industry. He took a detour from food for 11 years as he followed another career path before jumping into food distribution with Performance Food Service.

Learning the other side of the food industry began to develop a hunger inside of him to work in the restaurant business again.

After having a conversation with a close friend, he was given an opportunity to satisfy his craving.

“It was always a dream of mine to open a restaurant and me and (my friend) had discussed it for a little while prior in college. One day, we really should open up a restaurant,” McAfee said.

He then ran the fine dining style restaurant with his friend for a few years. “That restaurant was very successful,” McAfee added.

But McAfee said he did miss a more intimate setting when it came to managing a restaurant.

As time continued, McAfee had some “life things” to figure out, which led to his decision to leave his Tennessee home for the Lone Star State.

“I had some friends that lived in Portland, Texas and so I moved down here to be close to them,” McAfee said. “And then I moved to Kingsville probably about 14 months ago.”

Now with his roots planted firmly in Kingsville soil, McAfee wants to put his experience to use, and make his diner/café dream a reality.

“Peyton’s café is going to be lunch at first with a rotating menu, probably three to four items everyday,” McAfee said. “For instance, one day we might have fried chicken with mashed potatoes and a couple of side items. A hamburger, a salad and those kinds of things every day. So we offer three to four options, but fresh in house, made daily. And then on Tuesday, boom, something completely different. You would have chicken and dumplings with fried chicken sandwiches, maybe a grilled chicken salad. So, every single day the menu would rotate and change. I've got about 30 menu items that I have come up with.”

He added his main focus is ensuring every menu item is made fresh daily, which will include a few house made desserts for customers to indulge in after their meals.

McAfee said he also plans to have specialty brunches on Saturdays, complete with a mimosa bar. Guests will also be able to bring their own champagne.

As far as permanent menu items becoming a normal thing for Peyton’s, McAfee said if it’s in demand, he’ll definitely consider items for a regular menu.

McAfee plans to begin hiring a staff beginning on July 26, leading to cafe’s opening on Aug. 16.

“The last thing you want to do is open a restaurant and then on opening day you're understaffed or people don't know the menu. Or you haven't cooked in that kitchen and you don't have it set up the way you need it to be set up for what you run,” McAfee said. “So, Aug. 16 right now is the date that I gave myself to where I had enough time to really test everything out. To perfect the menu, to perfect my recipes and things like that and I've got a lot of stuff written down. But you got to leave yourself a little bit of room to, you know, work out the kinks.”

Peyton’s Café will be located at 1036 S. 14th St. with details on the grand opening time to be determined.