Our Story
Sharons’ Half Day Cafe was built around two families, two legacies, and two women whose names have always meant something more than most people could see...
Created by Oldham Hospitality in partnership with Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, Sharons’ Half Day Cafe brings together two East Tennessee families who have spent generations shaping the way people experience this region. One through hospitality rooted in Townsend, Tennessee — the Peaceful Side of the Smokies. The other through country ham and bacon revered by chefs, restaurants, and home cooks across the country.
But this cafe is not simply a partnership between businesses.
It is a tribute to the women at the heart of them.
Sharon Oldham
Sharon Benton
Sharons’ Half Day Cafe honors the care, standards, recipes, resourcefulness, and quiet strength that helped shape both families’ work. Like many family businesses, the public story is often told through the fathers and sons who carry the names forward. But the mothers were never on the sidelines.
They were setting the tone, holding the line, feeding the people, and making sure things were done the right way.
That spirit lives here...
The Sharons with Chef Jeff Carter
Located in Townsend, Tennessee, just minutes from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove, Sharons’ Half Day Cafe offers breakfast and lunch that feel rooted in this place: buttery biscuits, sourdough focaccia, smoky bacon, artisan country ham, locally roasted specialty coffee, and thoughtful meals made for everyday people.
The food is approachable, affordable, and served in a way that respects both the time of the guest and honors the work behind the plate.
In Appalachia, breakfast has always been more than the first meal of the day. It is the meal that sends you into the world. It is practical, sustaining, and shaped by what families could grow, cure, preserve, bake, or brew at home. It is often the first act of hospitality offered at the family table. At Sharons’ Half Day Cafe, we carry that forward in a modern way.
We do the slow work early — the baking, curing, brewing, prepping, and planning — so we can serve guests with ease when the day begins. It is fast-casual, but never careless. Familiar, but never generic. Built for travelers on their way to the mountains, locals stopping in before the day gets going, and anyone looking for a meal that feels honest, grounded, and distinctly East Tennessee.
Set between the local IGA and Peaceful Side Social, Sharons’ Half Day Cafe is both a convenient stop and a meaningful one. It belongs to the everyday rhythm of Townsend: close to the grocery store, close to the mountains, close to the people who make this place what it is.
Sharons’ Half Day Cafe is breakfast as Appalachian storytelling. It is Benton’s meats, Oldham hospitality, locally roasted coffee, family recipes, and mountain tradition served without pretense.
Most of all, it is a reminder that some of the strongest legacies are built quietly — around kitchen tables, in early mornings, through steady hands, and by women who made the work feel like home.
The Road to Partnership
1973
Allan Benton - second generation ham producer, purchases the iconic hicks smoke house.
1985
Pete Capaldini (Sharon Oldham’s father) instills a love for the kitchen garden.
2005
Notable chefs like John Fleer of BlackBerry Farm and David Chang of Momofuku feature Benton’s products prominently.
2007
Demand for Benton’s ham products in culinary uses begins to surge nationally and leads him to large cities like new york to meet with industry leaders and renowned chefs.
2013
Sharon and Mark Oldham open first Appalachian concept, Terra Mae. Sharon’s garden supplies the kitchen.
2015
Sharon and Mark oldham purchase Dancing Bear Lodge & Appalachian Bistro in Townsend, Tn.
2020-2023
Both sons, Darrell Benton and Houston Oldham, return home to their respective family business, marking a new generation of hospitality
2021
Chef Jeff Carter takes over as Executive Chef of Oldham Hospitality.
2022
Dancing bear Appalachian Bistro hosts Appalachian Homecoming and features Benton's country hams.
2025
Bentons, Oldhams + Chef Jeff Carter meet to discuss opening a business together.
2026
Bentons, Oldhams + Chef Jeff Carter open Sharons’ Half-Day Cafe, marking the Benton’s first restaurant concept and the Oldham’s ninth.