Hometown Eats: Pure Eats

LEXINGTON, Va. (WDBJ) - Come for the donuts, stay for the food. It might seem like a backwards concept, but it has worked for nearly 15 years.

It even landed Pure Eats in Lexington on a network TV show. We’ll tell you about it in this week’s Hometown Eats.

“Come on, leave the city, drive down here and spend the day. Just come spend the day in Lexington,” said owner Kasey Potter.

No matter what time you come, you can make a pit stop at this place for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Welcome to Pure Eats on Main Street in Lexington.

“I love the food, I love the people, I love our concept, I love the farm to table, I love that you can walk in and order and it’s fresh,” said Potter.

Pure Eats will turn 15 in 2026. Kasey Potter has been here the majority of that time and became sole owner a couple years ago. “I’m the youngest female business owner on Main Street, which is cool, right?”

Keeping in line with the name, Kasey has worked to keep everything on this menu available to anyone, even those who face several food allergies.

“When you walk in and say, ‘this is what I have; I’m allergic to dairy or gluten or eggs or have actual severe celiac,’ we have a whole entire menu that we can say ‘this is what you can have’ instead of saying ‘here is a plate of lettuce,’” joked Potter.

Another interesting fact about this place... it was once a gas station.

“This used to be a Pure Oil gas station, and they had the gas pumps outside and they sold cars and actually worked on cars in here,” said Potter.

“Kind of a clever way to fill you up in a different way,” added regular customer Janie.

And no matter when you come through the door, you can get breakfast all day.

“Our Rockbridge Rollup, we sell thousands of those. They fly out the door,” said Potter. “Our burger comes from a local farm right here in Lexington, the Potter family, Buffalo Creek Beef. The beef is fresh, it’s grass-fed and grain-finished.”

“My best thing to eat here is cheese sandwich. A grilled cheese sandwich with a big slice of home-grown tomato,” said Janie.

“Mama Lynn back there just makes the best chicken salad. It started as a special and now we can’t keep it on the menu,” said Potter.

The donuts, though, could be what they’re best known for. These babies landed them on the Cooking Channel show “Donut Showdown” in 2017.

“Next thing I know we’re flying to Canada to film a TV show, and we came in second, which was great. I got to make donuts on TV; who gets to do that?” said Potter.

“The best donuts you’ve ever eaten, right here,” added Janie.

Make sure you check the sign out front, because if it’s your name, you can cash in for a free donut.

“Like today it’s Logan, right? What a coincidence and this little, like the cutest 2-year-old came in and was like, ‘My name is Logan,’” said Potter.

Little things like that, Kasey says, are why she loves giving back to Lexington.

“We partner with so many local events and organizations; the Rockbridge County High School baseball team is one we do. The Freedom Food Festival. I sit on more committees than anybody probably ever should,” said Potter.

So, the next time you see Kasey, she’s likely going to point you toward Rockbridge County.

“They’re like Lexington, how far is that? I’m like, it’s 40 minutes. Make the trip to Lexington and I don’t care if it’s to come here,” said Potter.

And when you do, Kasey has one request.

“Just come hungry and somebody here is going to make a connection with you and you’re going to be family,” said Potter.

Pure Eats, a hometown eat always ready to fill your tank.

Pure Eats is located at 107 N Main St, Lexington, VA 24450 and is open 7 days a week 8am to 8pm.