Neighborhood Dishes
Brooklyn Banquet and Conference Center 1054 Sunset Boulevard West Columbia
By Rachel Haynie

Samuel Gantt cooks for hundreds at the Brookland Banquet and Conference Center

You wouldn't think so spacious a dining facility could be kept under wraps for long. Indeed, it's a contrast to say the highly-visible Brooklyn Banquet and Conference Center has the aura of being a best-kept secret.

Because it's not a commercial restaurant, its offerings don't appear in regular directories or listings. The Tuesday through Friday buffet is one of many successful outreach initiatives of Brookland Baptist Church. The buffet's popularity has spread mostly by word of mouth, starting with murmurs of church members who discovered, after partaking of Sunday brunch, they didn't have to wait an entire week to enjoy the bounty of chef Samuel Gantt again.

Those murmurs have become shouts of joy. Plenty of delicious home-style food is served in an ambiance that eclipses workday cares for an hour or so. Round linen-draped tables with floral centerpieces evoke conversation among guests. It's not unusual for strangers amenable to sharing a table to finish dessert (maybe peach cobbler, maybe banana pudding) as friends.

Now folks living or working near or on Sunset Boulevard line up as early as 11 am to go down the buffet line at one of the area's fastest growing lunch locations. Retirees and neighbors are joined at lunch by professionals working in nearby workplaces, or perhaps community volunteers who hold their planning meetings over lunch. As they work through their agendas, they are attentively served by members of an up-beat, experienced wait staff. There's room enough on the tables for paperwork and portfolios alongside pitchers of iced tea or small plates holding the last few crumbs of biscuits or yeast rolls.

Regulars may choose which day to make their way to 1054 Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia based on the special of the day. Gantt said Tuesday is country-style steak day, Wednesday is ribs, Thursday is oxtail, and Friday is seafood. Those entrees are by no means the only ones shimmering under the lids of stainless steel chafing dishes, though.

Every day there are choices to compliment the freshest vegetables Gantt can get. A salad bar and dessert table anchor the far end of the long buffet line, and beverage stations on both ends of the expansive dining hall make it easy for servers to keep guests' cups and glasses full.

Gantt has been the chef at the banquet and conference center from day one. Before accepting Rev. Charles Jackson's offer to make sure the food there was good and plentiful, Gantt had built a following throughout Columbia. "I came here from Charleston in 1973 to cook at Spring Valley Country Club," Gantt said. He also learned his way around the kitchen at Hennessey's and has served as sous chef at the Capital City Club.

"Rev. Jackson asked me to give every plated meal served here my personal touch," Gantt said. "We can serve up to 900 people in this space," the energetic cook said, making a sweeping gesture to take in the 11,200 square foot space. "Today, we have a group in the space next door, and sometimes we have to close to the public when we have a really big group in here."

Gantt said Jackson Gallery is easily divisible into seven different areas that can be used for meeting rooms as well as break-out space. The attractively appointed foyer down which guests walk to reach the buffet line is a pleasant waiting spot if someone else is joining the lunch party.

Gantt is clearly proud of the Southern cooking guests enjoy so much they return often. "This is Down Home food. If they want French, they can go somewhere else."