After six years of preparation, Pam Knight's dream of becoming a restaurant owner came true when she opened Brooklet Landing in September.
      Located on Highway 80 East in the building that housed the Brooklet Diner, Knight hopes to bring her vision of a family style restaurant to the community she loves.
       "I have always worked for restaurants, and really wanted to open one of my own," Knight said. "It is what I knew. So, once my children were grown, I enrolled in the restaurant management program at Ogeechee Tech and earned my degree in 2005."
       Upon graduation, Knight went to work for Bruce Yawn, the owner of Snooky's restaurant in Statesboro, as his night manager.
       "Pam was a wonderful employee for all of the years that she worked here," Yawn said. "She is sorely missed. But, I knew that it was always her dream to open her own restaurant."
Knight said Yawn gave her very sage advice when she decided it was time to go out on her own.
       "He told me that he wasn't going to talk me out of it, but he certainly wasn't going to talk me into it either," she said.
Knight has leased the property from local shrimper Billy Prosser, who owns a wholesale shrimp business in Brooklet, and supplies Knight with the seafood she cooks each night.
       "Everybody knows how good the shrimp are that Billy catches, and we are so glad to have that resource right here in our backyard," Knight said. "He provides other seafood to us as well."
       Inside the restaurant, local artist Olive Ann Groover is in the final stages of completing a mural depicting a shrimp boat off of the Savannah Coast creating a cozy atmosphere in the 11 table restaurant. Knight's name for her restaurant came from one of her most fond childhood memories.
       "When I was growing up, everybody used to go down to the Brooklet Landing on the Ogeechee River to fish, swim, grill out, and just hang out," she said. "I have so many fond memories of those times, and it is my hope that the name Brooklet Landing will evoke that same feeling in others when they hear the name."
       The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Knight serves traditional breakfast fare, a country style buffet at lunch, as well as sandwiches and burgers.
       "At night, we offer seafood, steaks, and as well as burgers and things like that," she said. "Right now, we are the most busy at night, but we are beginning to get a good, steady lunch crowd. We want folks to remember to come in for breakfast as well."
       Yawn thinks that Knight will be successful with her new restaurant.
       "I think it is a perfect fit for Brooklet, and gives them a much needed dining alternative in that area," he said. "Pam knows the restaurant business very well, and I am sure that she will do great."