She saw a need in Littlefield for a healthy choice restaurant. After her father passed away from COVID-19, her husband encouraged her to quit her teaching job and open a healthy restaurant.
Nikki Line-Turney opened The Farmer’s Lunchbox and Bakery on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022 located at 1607 S. Phelps Ave, near the Aquatic Center, with the help of Amelia Brown.
The pair make healthy salads, sandwiches and soups with fresh locally grown produce. Line-Turney teamed up with Schur Farms in Plainview by purchasing a whole cow. By the end of Sept. or early Oct. she plans on having the cow slaughtered so she can sell fresh beef.
“We will be using his fresh beef in any of our recipes,” Line-Turney said. “There’s no place on the South Plains, unless you go to Lubbock, to get fresh beef. It’s 21 days aged, straight to the ranch for the money, processing, he’s got all the FDA stamps and stuff that he needs to be able to sell it. So, I’ve teamed up and bought a whole cow. It’s a limousine cattle.”
Line-Turney also teamed up with R&R Farms in Lubbock to get more fresh fruit and vegetables. She said the new way is to get everything fresh and local so the money also stays local.
One of the unique things about The Farmer’s Lunchbox and Bakery is Line- Turney’s rotating menu. She switches out her menu on a weekly basis.
“Being a teacher for 20 years, I get tired of the same boring things,” Line-Turney said. “I literally have a teacher planner and I plan out what I feel like making. It’s seasonal, based on what I can get in. So in the fall, there will be a lot of cinnamon and a lot of pumpkin, apple, stuff like that. I just rotate, because nobody wants the same thing.”
Line-Turney and Amelia Brown also serve desserts, such as nobake cheesecake, brownies, crumb blueberry pie, banana muffins and much more. All of their desserts are made fresh daily. A lot of the soups are Line-Turney’s own recipes.
“I’m neurotic,” Line-Turney said, jokingly. “I like to make everything from scratch, if I can. It just tastes better and you don’t have all those preservatives and stuff.”
Although The Farmer’s Lunchbox and Bakery has been open for over a week, they already have repeat customers. They also sell out of sandwiches daily.
“We sell out every day,” Line-Turney said. “We had to make sandwiches and make more stuff because it’ll be 12:30 and we’ll be out of everything. This town has needed something fresh and healthy and the fact that they can walk in, get it and leave on a short time frame, that’s the appeal.”
Line-Turney said she started this restaurant because she believed Littlefield needed a healthy option, but that was not her only goal.
“My goal with this restaurant, is to get them out under 10 bucks,” Line-Turney said. “That’s why I offer the water. So, I did the research. Texas law says restaurants have to offer water and I’m not going to give them nasty tap water. I’m going to give them bottled water. For anything that they get here with a water, it’s under 10 bucks,” she said, gesturing toward the refrigerator filled with sandwiches and salads.
Line- Turney said only the soups, salads and sandwiches with a water are under $10. She said if customers want dessert, it will cost extra.
Line-Turney met Amelia Brown, her baking and business partner, at church. Brown was laid off due to COVID and Line-Turney was looking for a partner.
“She does half the baking and half the cooking and some of her recipes are being used,” Line-Turney said. “Today, we had the Tres Leches with strawberries and then she did a no-bake cheesecake with strawberries as well. The day before she made banana muffins. She’s a baker, just like me.”
Line- Turney uploads her weekly menus to The Farmer’s Lunchbox and Bakery Facebook page, along with photos of their fresh desserts.
Currently, the restaurant is only open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mon- day through Friday. Line-Turney and Brown have not yet determined if they will eventually open full time, but they are hoping to start delivering by Monday, Aug. 22, 2022.
“Part of the reason why we haven’t done delivery yet is because if we’re selling out here, it’s going to be even worse once we start delivering,” Line-Turney said. “So, the way it works is it’s a $5 delivery fee, you pay over the phone through the Square and my delivery drivers deliver and then you just tip them. This way we can hit the schools for the teachers that can’t escape, the courthouse and stuff like that.”
Line-Turney said they will only be delivering in the Littlefield area, because gas is too expensive right now. She said the delivery will not go through any delivery food service apps, such as DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats and the like.
Line-Turney prepared eight loaves of homemade French Bread on Thursday, Aug. 18, for Italian subs, which were supposed to be served the following day. However, due to a family matter, her restaurant will be closed from Friday, Aug. 19 through Tuesday, Aug. 23, 2022. The food she prepared for Friday was donated to the Littlefield Booster Club for the Volleyball Tournament. The Farmer’s Lunchbox and Bakery will be open on Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.