Locals crave the Corner Grill’s chicken salad sandwich and cheesburgers

Traffic from Lillington and beyond merged in and out of the small restaurant’s big parking lot as a testimony to the fast service. It had to be; the place was hopping!

Cherry Marley Champion and her brother Wesley Marley have owned the Corner Grill for nine years. In a couple of weeks, they will offer a food truck, the Corner Grill on wheels, and it will set up in the restaurant’s parking lot several times a week and be available for events.

“Dad was mayor for 40 years. So, we know about taking care of our locals and businesses,” Champion said about carrying on the homemade tradition of real food and good customer service.

Champion carried bookkeeping records as she prepared to leave for her second job as manager for the Holiday Inn Express, still waving to customers and calling them by name as she drove away.

Mari Barnes popped inside and out back to her car and said she comes every Friday after she has her hair done.

“I always get the hot dogs. The chili is homemade,” Barnes said.

“The chicken salad sandwich is my favorite,” Derek Ransdell said.

Senior citizien, Tom, had a tough time deciding what to order after the waitress told him they were out of chicken salad.

“It’s my favorite. I come here once a week,” Tom said.

A sheriff’s deputy in Lillington had suggested the Corner Grill as the best place for cheeseburgers, and everyone knows lawmen know their way around dining establishments.

The okra tasted fresh and the handmade cheeseburger patty was so thick, it would have been a challenge to add more toppings. The homemade slaw and chili made the cheesburger taste like it came off a backyard grill.

Ted and Sue Honeycutt said they come every single day.

“I have the baby cheeseburger,” Ted Honeycutt said. “They’re the best.”

July 11, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers