Of all the clichés I tend to carry around because of my decade-plus as a sportscaster, once upon a moon, it is one that has nothing to do with sports, ironically, that I find myself sharing more and more as I get older. We can call it wisdom (that’s up for debate), we can call it peace of mind, or we can call it optimism. I think there’s a little of everything in this one, but funny how it fits into more and more spots the last decade or so.

Change is life’s gift.

Now, before you go rolling your eyes, thinking I’m going to take you down some philosophical rabbit hole, you should know that this is a story about Southern comfort. And fried chicken, of course.

You may have seen the headlines some months back about the changing of the guard at The Mighty Eighth Museum in Pooler. That particular change, though, had nothing to do with the museum and everything to do with the restaurant inside that building.

Miss Sophie’s is the name of that restaurant. It was created by Teri Bell and her husband in 2006, and has been a staple along Pooler’s Southern border ever since. Miss Sophie’s enjoyed a solid following with locals who knew where to get their Southern food fix out near I-95. Meantime, visitors to the Mighty 8th were able to check a second box during their visit to Savannah by enjoying a classic home-cooked Southern lunch.

If you are doing the math, Miss Teri, as she is affectionately known around here, enjoyed a 20-year run with that restaurant, and I could tell during some visits a couple of years back that she was ready for a new phase in her life.

A year or so later, when word finally came that Miss Sophie’s was officially changing hands, I wasn’t surprised in the least. On the contrary, I was excited for everyone involved because of who was taking over.

Late last year, we found out that Savannah’s Big Bon Bodega, led by Founding Partner Kay Heritage and Partner/Executive Chef Shahin Afsharian, would be taking over Miss Sophie’s Restaurant at the Mighty 8th.The press release quoted all parties involved as saying this was a perfect fit. Having known all parties involved for a hot minute myself, I knew this to be 100 percent true.

It was a perfect fit.

Teri and Kay have been long-time friends. Long before Kay and her daughter decided to start a pizza food truck many years ago, with no experience making pizza, mind you, and turned it into a tiny 2-shop bagel sandwich empire here in Greater Savannah. Now they are in the Southern comfort food business as well.

So many of the cynics on social cried foul. I’m guessing 90 percent of them never took a minute learn any facts. They just saw ‘Big Bon Bodega’ and ‘Miss Sophies’ and, of course, assumed that Miss Sophies was going to be turned into another bagel outlet.

Not only did I know better, but I also knew because of who was involved that it would be well done. And it has been.

I spent a couple of hours with Shahin a few weeks back, seeing the space for the first time since they took over, and was really impressed with what they had done, but also what they had not done.

For starters, the kitchen area and display case got a much-needed facelift. The setup is more efficient, the lighting is so much better, and most importantly, the menu was tweaked and actually expanded a little bit. Shahin is a talented chef who came to Savannah to work at the Plant Riverside District. He’s got serious chops in the kitchen.

Some items, like the cornbread, okra, and tomatoes, he enhanced; others he knew to leave to the staff that was already in place. Yes, a lot of the kitchen staff is the same as it ever was.

I was there on a Thursday when Chicken Fried Steak was the daily special, but I passed on it for the signature fried chicken, which I very much enjoyed. CFS next time.

Overall, the food is great. That cornbread, by the way, is simply outstanding.In my top 2 or 3 in Savannah for sure.

“You knew I was going to stick my spoon in there,” he said with a laugh.

Of course, I did.

The other part they largely left alone was the dining room. There were no paint jobs, and there were no additions to attract a younger demo. There was no loud music aimed at tweaking anything about this hideaway in suburban Savannah.

“There was never a plan to really change anything.” Shahin was eager to share. Yes, they created a new logo and some branding stickers for the grab-and-go desserts that you can find in the cooler near the food line, but you’d otherwise have no idea. Well, other than the one sign showing you where the start of the line is for lunch. You can see all of the visuals in our story above.

It still looks like an old pub with an identity crisis, which has been part of the charm of this space for 20 years. Once upon a time, it actually was a pub, but the area wasn’t broken, so they didn’t fix it.

“We want this to be a community space,” Shahin said. I think they are well on their way.

You should stop by on your next visit to Pooler. You don’t need a ticket to the museum to have lunch there. If you’ve been before, I think you’ll enjoy the enhancements. They are lunch only, 11am-2pm Tuesdays through Saturdays.

If you’ve never been, well, then you will just have to Eat It and Like It.

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