One of the many benefits I have reaped from starting this food blog for Franklin is all the great people I’ve met. Karen Henderson, a fellow foodie I met while having lunch at AmaZing Foods Cafe, had some good suggestions for places to try. Two of those places were Nancy’s Bulk Food Store and Coal Oil Johnnys Eatery in Pleasantville. I thought a trip to Pleasantville would make for a “pleasant” Saturday morning so my better half and I hopped into the car and headed east.
Coal Oil Johnny’s is a warm and comfortable restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days a week. They serve all your homestyle favorites: biscuits and sausage gravy, omelettes, home fries, buckwheat pancakes, homemade soups, mac & cheese, meatloaf & mashed potatoes, homemade pies and the list goes on and on. We had breakfast, eggs, home fries, sausage, toast and pancakes. All were delicious and tasted fresh, not swimming in a pool of butter or grease.
After breakfast we headed to Nancy’s Bulk Food Store which by the way is connected to Coal Oil Johnnys and owned by the same person, Nancy Hunt.
Nancy grew up in Pleasantville and got her idea for her Bulk Food Store from the Amish bulk food stores she remembers visiting when she was younger. One of the things that really intrigued me about Nancy’s store is the variety of gluten-free products, most of them are the Bob’s Red Mill brand.
Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free products
She has gluten-free cereals, bread mixes, cake mixes, cookie mixes and a variety of gluten-free flours. If you or anybody you know has Celiacs disease or a wheat gluten allergy this a good place for you to go. The second thing I was interested in was the variety of cake, candy making and decorating products. I am a sucker for cookie/cupcake sprinkles!
From Franklin its about a 1/2 hour drive but well worth the trip. Both places are open Monday through Thursday 6AM – 7PM, Friday & Saturday 6AM – 8PM and Sundays 6AM – 3PM. Coal Oil Johnnys and Nancy’s Bulk Food Store are located at 117 E. State Street, Pleasantville, PA 16341 or call Nancy if you have any questions (814) 589-5500.
