Hometown Eats: The Little Mule Cafe

PENHOOK, Va. (WDBJ) - If you’ve watched Hometown Eats over the years you understand, some of the best food is found in restaurants that share walls with gas stations.

In Penhook, the streak continues thanks to some family recipes and a hand-me-down copper pot at The Little Mule Café for this week’s Hometown Eats!

“My dad always taught us when they come into your restaurant, you’re bringing them into your home,” said owner Jasmine Aguirre.

And when you’ve been doing it most of your life, hospitality becomes as easy as uno, dos, tres. Welcome to The Little Mule Café attached to the Minute Market on Old Franklin Turnpike in Penhook.

“Without our community supporting us, I feel like we wouldn’t be here,” said Aguirre.

Owner Jasmine Aguirre is no stranger to working in a restaurant.

“Mexico Viejo is what we’re known for, we’ve been in the community for about 30 years. I used to run the cashier, open the door for people, and clean tables. That’s where I started and I think that’s where my passion began, because of my parents,” said Aguirre.

Neither is she a stranger to anyone who walks into her cafe.

“We love what we do and you’re going to see it as soon as you walk through the door,” said Aguirre.

“This place is well worth the trip,” said regular customer Tony.

“Just the environment man,” added regular customer Cameron.

“We came here the first day and we said we’re definitely coming back again the next day,” said customer Nathan.

Inside, you experience a piece of Jasmine’s Guadalajaran roots.

“The rustic theme and just the old, I like the old vibe. Our wall décor, a lot of them are gifts from our customers, which I think makes it more unique. And the bike on the wall, my dad used to use a lot of bikes in his restaurants, and I thought it was really cute and we actually have one at Mexico Viejo too; that way people see that we’re the same family,” explained Aguirre.

But Jasmine pedaled a different path with this cafe, simply because she was tired of searching for a good cup of coffee.

“I used to drive 20 minutes to Gretna, 20 minutes to West Lake or 20 minutes to Rocky Mount and I felt like we needed that,” said Aguirre.

“Penhook really has needed this,” said Tony.

“This is the ‘Honey I’m Fishing.’ This is probably the best latte I’ve ever had in my life, and I’ve drank a lot of coffee,” said customer James.

Come for the coffee, stay for the food. Believe me, this Little Mule has a big kick when it comes to flavor.

“Created something a little bit more me, but still what I grew up doing,” said Aguirre.

And as the wall art says, Jasmine and Chef Cory cook with heart.

“It’s all homemade. This is my family recipe; we’ve had it for like 40 years. It’s carnitas, so it’s shredded pork. I think the important part about the carnitas is what you cook it in. Believe it or not, the taste of the carnitas is different when you cook it in this copper pot than like a typical stainless steel pot. This has also been passed down. My dad gave it to me, so I’ve been using it since. If your carnitas doesn’t have bay leaves, I feel like it’s not an actual good carnitas recipe,” explained Aguirre. She continued, “We have El Cubano, which we use the recipe from my family as well as the bread that comes in El Cubano. We support a local bakery called Coco Canela.”

“Definitely try the birria. Very good portion, there’s a lot of food in it,” said Nathan.

“The birria is going to be the favorite that I want you to try. It’s what we’re known for. The important part of this sandwich is the consome we’re going to give you. It’s like a Mexican ajou and you dip the sandwich in the ajou,” added Aguirre. “I think that one is the most important because that really got this place going. That sandwich being my recipe is what got me excited to be here.”

“You can get a sausage and gravy here, they have a sunrise burger that is amazing with bacon and egg. Whatever you want, they’ve got it,” said Tony.

Since it is a café, you know they have some treats. Made by someone sweet.

“My mom was baker in Guadalajara, Mexico. She made blueberry lemon today,” said Aguirre.

Mules are known for their loyalty, and that’s exactly what you get from Jasmine and her team.

“Mules symbolize hard working animals and little means that we’re just little hard-working people. It’s not always about making the sale, it’s about getting people in here and hoping that they have that experience and it’s good from beginning to end,” said Aguirre.

The Little Mule Café, a hometown eat packed with family history.

The Little Mule Café is located at 15550 Old Franklin Turnpike, Penhook, VA 24137 and is open Monday through Thursday 8am to 3pm, Friday and Saturday 8am to 4pm, Sunday 9am to 2pm.