When Chapel Hill icon Mildred “Mama Dip” Council’s restaurant closed its brick-and-mortar last August after 48 years, it left a hole in the community that went beyond good Southern cooking.
The restaurant was a social anchor—a place where regulars and newcomers alike felt at home among wooden tables and comfort food.
But the legacy continues in a new form next week, when Council’s granddaughter, Tonya, launches her own establishment with a fresh vision for bringing people together around a table.
Tonya’s Café opens on Elliott Road on March 19. While Mama Dip’s was housed in a homey building with porch rocking chairs on walkable Rosemary Street, Tonya’s presents a more contemporary space with bright blue walls and a gallery wall of empty picture frames in a shopping center that includes a children’s clothing boutique, a florist, and a UPS store.
“I’m trying to keep the tradition going in my own kind of way,” Tonya Council says, adding that her grandmother “was a pillar in the community.” Mildred Council died in 2018 at age 89. “I’m not trying to fill those shoes. I’m just trying to keep the memory alive and get good food going.”
That good food—displayed at a recent preview event, buffet-style—hits a sweet spot between nostalgic Southern comfort and contemporary cafe fare.
“There’s a little bit of old, a little bit of new,” says Bill Smith, the former chef of Crook’s Corner—the now-closed Chapel Hill landmark that, like Mama Dip’s, helped define the town’s food identity.
Smith, a longtime friend of the family, attended the cafe’s recent media preview event.
“I love those green beans that are cooked to death,” says Smith.. “Nobody does that anymore.”
At Crook’s, Smith made the beans crispy and bright green, but there’s something to be said for the old ways, he says.
“I remember my grandmother coming in one time, and she turned to me, she said, ‘I don’t care what you say, these beans are raw,’” Smith says. “So I was delighted to see that big bowl of those old-fashioned green beans at Tonya’s.”
Among the other dishes that honor Southern cooking traditions at Tonya’s is the chicken and pastry: flat squares of dough swimming in thick savory sauce alongside tender shredded chicken. It’s deliciously salty and carries forward a favorite from Mama Dip’s.
“That’s something I grew up watching my grandmother make all the time,” Tonya Council says.
While classics make an appearance, Tonya Council has developed her own menu identity. Sandwiches, which weren’t offered at Mama Dip’s, feature prominently on the Tonya’s Café menu: catfish po’boys, chicken salad croissants, a burger topped with pimento cheese and onion jam, and a Monte Cristo with blueberry jam made in Little Switzerland, North Carolina.
Among the menu’s more playful innovations is a cornbread flight featuring three varieties: traditional, sweet potato with cinnamon, and jalapeño-cheddar. Tonya Council plans to offer a pie flight as well, with three or four mini slices served alongside ice cream.
The café occupies the space adjoining Tonya’s Cookies & Bake Shop, which got celebrity nods in 2021 and 2024 when the shop’s pecan crisp cookies and cream cheese pound cake were named to Oprah’s Favorite Things list.
The 1,200-square-foot café space was always part of Tonya Council’s plan, though she had to wait for UPS to complete their build-out as they were temporarily using it as a staging area, she says.
In addition to the bakery and café, Tonya Council operates Sweet Tea & Cornbread at Crabtree Valley Mall and NC Made, an online shop featuring North Carolina products.
Tonya’s Café will serve lunch during the week and brunch on weekends, with plans to ease into dinner service in the future. The space features five outdoor tables for al fresco dining options.
Support independent local journalism. Join the INDY Press Club to help us keep fearless watchdog reporting and essential arts and culture coverage viable in the Triangle.
Follow Staff Writer Lena Geller on X or send an email to lgeller@indyweek.com. Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.