River Terrace

Elizabeth had just purchased a new home in New Orleans five days prior to Hurricane Katrina. Her new home, the home she was selling, her rental property, and her mother’s home had all flooded.  Not wanting to risk going through another major hurricane and thinking toward eventual small-town retirement, Elizabeth decided after a lifetime of living in New Orleans, to relocate. With its warm, hospitable people, serene landscape, and abundance of nature, Elizabeth felt Columbia could be a new place to call home and purchased a lovely local residence in February 2007 to become part of the local community.

The property’s original structure was built in 1800 as a residence in Giles County. Sometime in the 1920s, it was moved to Maury County and made a combo bait stand & mercantile. Following a fire in the early 1940s, it became the Pickwick Dinner Club in 1947, a 24-hour private club. After changing hands several more times, it subsequently opened as the Ole Lamplighter Inn in 1980–2008 before the vacant property was purchased by Elizabeth in April 2010.

After 6 months of extensive renovation, River Terrace opened in October 2010, and has gone on to achieve & maintain among the top ranking of area restaurants on restaurant ranking sites consistently since 2011, and win numerous awards, including Most Romantic Restaurant in Maury County each year since 2011, 1st & 2nd Places in county chef cook-offs, and more. We make most items fresh from scratch upon order from our original recipes, are consistently regarded by the local community as the best restaurant in the geographic region, and are regularly recommended by local hotels to their guests. Elizabeth’s mission to make a positive difference in the lives of our patrons and help create wonderful memories for them has been very gratifyingly accomplished.