Staggs’s Deli, east Florence’s most popular stop-and-go breakfast and lunch joint, is a sight for sore Southern eyes. Tucked neatly in the middle of a timeworn strip mall on Royal Avenue beside the House of Vacuums, it’s quite easy to miss.

This current hole-in-the-wall eatery, open from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday, started out as a grocery store in 1936. Local owner and operator for 13 years Lynn Staggs said the store became a deli in 1980.

“This used to be the hub of the city,” he said.

Upon my arrival at 7 a.m. sharp, my senses awakened as I stepped inside the door and received a whiff of my childhood: coffee, cigarettes and bacon grease. I drowsily poured myself a cup of strong, freshly brewed coffee into a Goodwill-type mug and returned to a round table with an array of jellies and a coffee-stained roll of paper towels. The atmosphere of the deli is fairly plain with outdoor-type tables and chairs, a truck-stop style grill and coolers usually sighted in concession stands. The table I chose was not named, yet to my left was the “Liar’s Table” and to my right the “ROMEO” (Retired Old Men Eating Out) table.

“What’s good here?” I asked.

“Just about everything,” said the waitress.

I spotted chocolate gravy and biscuits on the breakfast menu, yet I was disappointingly informed this local favorite is only offered on Fridays.

“Well, if you’ve got a couple minutes to wait, she’s making some fresh,” she said.

“I’ve got all the time in the world,” I said.

As I waited hungrily, I observed the overwhelming hustle and bustle of local personnel stopping in to grab a quick breakfast. Yet, for the older generation located on the ROMEO table, wasting time by drinking coffee and chatting with other locals was a treat they looked forward to.

Over the course of an hour I sat and overheard what “that Obama” said last night, jokes their wives probably wouldn’t appreciate, and how that damn dog got loose and tore up everything in the house last night. These conversations deeply rooted in Southern prattle could only be humored by a true Alabamian.

While sipping my third cup of coffee, a woman with a cell phone pressed tightly to her ear came barreling in to place her order. Something told me I’d like her, so I offered her a seat next to me.

“Try the omelets,” she said. “That’s almost always what I get.”

Shortly after our conversation, she was back on the cell phone, however, my attention was focused on the approaching Styrofoam plate piled high with butter soaked biscuits, crowned with made-from-scratch chocolate gravy. The waitress plopped the plate down in front of me.

“These’ll make you slap your grandma,” she said.

At first glance, I feared she was right. The slow-cooked, sweet chocolate gravy looked to be heaven on the heart but hell on the thighs. Paired with three greasy slices of crispy bacon, my taste buds screamed with satisfaction. After one bite, I gave the cook a “thumbs up” and lavishly absorbed every ounce of goodness on my plate.

For a meal that’s prepared by the hands of an expert in country cooking and an atmosphere saturated with Deep South heritage, head over to Staggs’s Deli to try the chocolate gravy and biscuits or a bacon cheeseburger for lunch. As for grandma, let’s hope she’s prepared for the blow.