ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
Posted: Sunday, December 7, 2008 7:39 am

Unusual breakfast items, soup and sandwiches and custom-made cakes are just a sampling of what the new restaurant, The Ivy Bistro, has to offer.

Owned and operated by the Ivy family, formerly of Galveston, Texas, the restaurant serves breakfast featuring kolache, a soft bread wrapped around a large sausage link and cheese or ham and cheese.

“That is one of our biggest things for breakfast,” said co-owner Rhiannon Ivy. Her mother, Carolyn, and sister, Rebecca, also own the bistro. Rhiannon’s husband, Michael, serves as the cook.

Breakfast items also include such treats as cinnamon rolls, muffins, fried eggs and cheese sandwiches and Rhiannon’s specialty, monkey bread.

“I seem to be the only one who can make it,” she said.

The lunch menu is made up of soups, salads and sandwiches including the restaurant’s signature Monte Cristo and turkey bacon melt. Chunky chicken noodle soup and the chicken or tuna Waldorf salads also have been a hit with customers, Rhiannon Ivy said.

The Ivy Bistro’s menu is rounded out by a variety of baked goods from cookies and brownies to pies and cakes. Specialty holiday cakes or custom cakes for special events including weddings are available.

The restaurant is located at 1602 W. Northfield Blvd., Suite 02 in the former location of Goodness Gracious. Hours of operation are Monday-Saturday from 6 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Call the restaurant at 410-7513.

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Murfreesboro will soon have another place where pizza lovers can satisfy their craving

A delivery and carryout only location of Pizza Inn has a tentative opening date of Dec. 9, according to restaurant officials. The restaurant is located at 4205 Manson Pike next door to the new BP gas station off the Interstate 24 interchange at Medical Center Parkway/Manson Pike.

Call the Pizza Inn location at 962-8342.

This is the only Pizza Inn location in Middle Tennessee, but several years ago the restaurant franchise had locations in Murfreesboro and Smyrna.

Pizza Inn, a Dallas-based restaurant franchise, is known for its unique pizza flavors from bacon cheeseburger, taco and chicken fajita to veggie and bacon cheddar ham. The menu also features salads, stromboli, pasta, sandwiches and desserts.

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Keith and Carole Bryant recently opened a franchise of Budget Blinds, the nation’s largest window treatment franchise with nearly 1,200 operators across the country.

Budget Blinds, which doesn’t have a storefront, specializes in all types of window coverings, area carpets, decorative hardware and bedding. The company provides personalized customer service through complimentary in-home consultations and installation.

Budget Blinds markets such well-known names as Hunter-Douglas and Norman Shutter as well as their own signature line.

The couple’s franchise covers the city of Murfreesboro, Rockvale, Eagleville, the southern part of Rutherford County and stretches out across Highway 96 to include Arrington, Franklin, Thompson Station, and Spring Hill.

For more information, call 904-7255 or visit www.budgetblinds.com/murfreesboro.

Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.