Overnight in Franklin North Carolina

…continuing with our very brief exploration of Southwestern North Carolina.  We left the town of Highlands and rolled on up US Hwy 64 to the city of Franklin where we planned to have dinner and spend the night.

We didn’t know what to expect in Franklin or most of the other towns we’d visited on this little journey.  Blue Ridge and Clayton Georgia had been a pleasant surprise while Swiss themed Helen Georgia was a bit of a letdown.  Other than dinner and our Hampton Inn for the night, we had no big plans for this stop.

Almost every site about Franklin features a photo much like the second one shown above.  The architecture isn't all that inspiring but there were plenty of folks around.  Franklin North Carolina is the county seat for Macon County.  Mostly situated within the Nantahala National Forest, the town is popular with hikers and outdoor enthusiasts.  With the National Forest, the Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail in close proximity, the town provides a good base for exploration.  Franklin is growing too with a 2020 population of 4,175 residents.

We just ‘had to’ stop and shop somewhere during the day… Kitchen stores are always scary for me because ‘we’ can always find something nifty that we ‘need’ for our kitchen.  This locally owned and operated store specializes in high-end cookware, bakeware, kitchen gadgets, cutlery, small electric appliances, cookie cutters and much more.

That's Bill in the doorway of the store.  The building was constructed in 1907.  Originally it was a drug store and general merchandise store with attorney's offices upstairs.

Kitchen Sink Inc. is located at 72 East Main Street in Franklin North Carolina.  Phone: 828-524-2956.  For on-line shoppers, there are 601 items available for your shopping pleasure.  To learn more, go to their website at https://thekitchensinkinc.com/.

Franklin was named for one of its founders but the town was built around a 1,000 year old Native American platform mound, actually the center of the historic Cherokee town of Niwasi…which meant “center of activity” in the Cherokee language.  The Cherokee built their Council House on top of the mound.  At the time of our visit I was unaware that the remains of the Nikwasi Mound are still visible in downtown Franklin.  The property is owned by the city and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Our next shopping adventure was at the Scottish Tartans Museum and Heritage Center’s gift shop.  The Museum and gift shop was first established in Highlands North Carolina but it was moved to Franklin in 1994.  The combined establishment is a center for reliable information on Scottish Highland Dress traditions within the USA and to serve the large Scottish-American heritage community.  Given the Scottish heritage shared by Laurie and Bonnie, (fitting names aren’t they?), we spent quite a bit of time perusing the information available in the store.

For some reason we didn’t wander through the museum but it is located side by side with the gift shop.  Admission to the museum is $4.00 per adult.  The museum and gift shop can be found at 86 and 88 East Main Street.  Phone: 828-524-7472.  Websites: https://www.scottishtartansmuseum.org/ and https://scottishtartansgiftshop.com/. 

Our next stop was at the Lazy Hiker Brewing Company for a couple of local brews… Lazy Hiker has been crafting beer since 2015 and their products are distributed to 38 counties in North Carolina as well as 37 counties in Georgia.  The brewery is located in Franklin’s former town hall and fire department…and as you can see it features both an expansive outdoor patio and a taproom. 

I always love to check out the names given to the beers by local breweries.  In this case examples included: Trail Candy – Tropical IPA; The Darkening; Nitro Winter Nutterland: Dad Jokes II, and Slack Pack IPA.  Lazy Hiker Brewing Company is located at 88 West Main Street in Franklin.  Phone: 828-349-beer (2337).  Website: https://lazyhikerbrewing.com/.

FYI, the Franklin area is famous for its gem mining.  It hosts a jewelry and gem show twice a year.  The Cowee Valley just north of Franklin attracts thousands of visitors to its mines each year and valuable stones are still being found.  Gems include ruby, sapphire and garnets.  The Franklin Gem and Mineral Museum is free to the public.  It is in the old jail…couldn’t break out and hard to break into!  It’s located at 27 Phillips Street.  Phone: 828-369-7831.  Website: https://www.fgmm.org/.

It was time for dinner and we decided on Barbeque.  We chose Haywood Smoke House in Franklin for our evening repast… Haywood doesn’t sauce their meats during the smoking process…something they learned when they were on the BBQ competition circuit.  “Great meat should stand on its own.”  Sauce is meant to complement the meat’s flavor, not just to hide poor quality or dryness.  Haywood smokes their briskets for a minimum of 16 hours and their butts for a minimum of 14 hours.

As you can see from the photos, other than the bar, this restaurant was quite busy.  Servers were having a hard time keeping up and we had to ask twice sometimes when we asked for napkins, different sauces, etc.  It’s a sign of the times…with everyone short staffed…

Bill selected one of the Smokehouse Combo Platters.  Diners can chose between pork, brisket, chicken, turkey, ribs or the Sausage of the Day.  There is a choice of 2 or 3 meats… In his case he went for two, choosing ribs and brisket. ($20.99) For Bill’s sides he went for the Potato Salad and Baked Beans.  It was all good!

Bonnie wasn’t too hungry so she selected the “Dressed” Chopped Pork Sandwich. ($9.99) Her chopped pork on a bun was topped with creamy coleslaw.  She really enjoyed her sandwich and thought that her side of baked beans was especially tasty.

Both Laurie and I love good BBQ pork ribs.  She wasn’t too hungry but with the understanding that I’d eat one of her ribs, she ordered the “3-Bone Platter” with French fries and coleslaw. ($13.99) Her ribs were very good indeed…and I can verify that personally!

I also went for a 2-meat Smokehouse Platter.  All platters include 2 sides and Texas Toast.  In my case, I went for the brisket and andouille sausage.  The brisket was pretty decent and I really liked the sausage.  I also liked the coleslaw and those baked beans…which were laced with bits of pulled pork.

FYI, available sides at Haywood Smokehouse include coleslaw, collard greens, burnt-end baked beans, mac and cheese, potato salad, campfire taters and green beans.  I was really tempted to order an extra side when I saw that they had Brunswick stew on the menu. (Cup $3.99/Bowl $6.99) I forgot to take a photo of our dessert.  We shared a large fruit cobbler with ice cream. ($6.99) It was very nice but we were really satiated.    

Haywood Smokehouse is located at 33 Macon Center Drive in Franklin North Carolina.  Phone: 828-369-6666.  Haywood Smokehouse’s Website is found at: https://haywoodsmokehouse.com/.  Other Haywood locations can be found in Waynesboro and Dillsboro North Carolina.  This restaurant is closed Sunday and Monday.    

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave