Located across the road from the Snow Family Atrium, The Oak House, a coffee house and bar, is a popular spot among the Elon community.

Freshman Samantha Perez said she enjoys going to The Oak House, especially during colder months. 

"The vibes are immaculate, and it's a great space to get nice coffees and things to warm you up when you're cold outside," Perez said.

Sophomore Maisa Valerio also said she appreciates the warm, comforting drinks served at The Oak House. 

"Oak House is one of my favorite places to go and grab a nice hot cup of coffee. I usually get a hot vanilla latte, sometimes with cinnamon, and it hits perfectly during the cold weather," Valerio said.

Senior Lauren Cicale said she is more of a coffee person than a tea person, but she has tried a few of the tea options offered at The Oak House, including the chai latte and raspberry mint tea. Cicale said she orders the chai latte often.

Besides its tea, Cicale said she enjoys coming to Oak House for several different reasons.

“There’s a lot of seating, and they have good snacks,” Cicale said.

Its convenient location is also a plus for Cicale as it sits directly across from campus and is only a short walk or drive away for most students.

For freshman Sam Hagopian, visiting The Oak House during her Elon University tour made a memorable impression. While enjoying coffee with her dad, Hagopian immediately felt excited about the prospect of having the coffee shop nearby as a student. 

"I turned to my dad, and I said, 'Wow, I'm really excited to go here so that I can drink this coffee and have it nearby,'" Hagopian said.

Now a frequent visitor, Hagopian appreciates the great drinks and quality coffee The Oak House offers. 

"If I had to choose anywhere to get a cup of coffee, I would definitely choose Oak House," Hagopian said.

The Oak House is also one of Elon University’s merchant partners and accepts Phoenix Cash, making it even more accessible and convenient for students.

Runner up: Irázu

With three locations in Burlington alone, La Cocina Mexican Restauranthas since grown to 11 locations across the state. The family-owned restaurant originally opened in Mebane in 2000.

Offering authentic Mexican food for the residents of Burlington and Elon, La Cocina is the spot for when the community is looking for something a little different. Freshman Olivia Love visited one of the locations with her family.

“The restaurant had good food and a fun environment,” Love said.

With music playing and fun decor, the restaurant not only focuses on food but the experience as well.

“You could tell that the restaurant had put a lot of thought into their business beyond the food,” Love said. “The welcoming atmosphere and lively music really created an experience.”

Runner up: Crazy Mexico

Albert Hernandez’s father opened Prego’s Trattoria in 2006, and now Hernandez runs the family business. Prego’s in Burlington fits into the Elon community — particularly for events such as Family Weekend and graduation, Hernandez said.

“It’s been amazing,” Hernandez said. “We’ve been pretty honored to be like a partner with Elon and their students and their parents.”

Prego’s serves traditional Italian food. It is open for lunch and dinner and offers event space.

Being a family-owned business is important to Hernandez, he said.

“I’m here every single day,” Hernandez said. “I think that’s a big thing that makes it apart from other restaurants. Feels like the amount of attention that we put into the restaurant and I’m getting to know everyone that comes into the restaurant, that has been a big factor for us.”

Hernandez’s father took a chance opening the restaurant in Burlington. Their family had a cousin in Burlington and his father went to visit one day and saw a small Greek restaurant was for sale. His father started as a chef in New York City, then began learning other aspects of running a restaurant — with the goal of one day owning his own.

Hernandez said he feels connected to the Elon community because of his proximity to the campus as well.

“I actually go every morning with my son,” Hernandez said. “He’s 12, so we go running every morning, we go running through Elon’s campus.”

Runner up: da Vinci’s Table

This year, Red Bowl Asian Bistro was voted “Best Asian Food” by the Elon University community.

Server Natalie Huffman only began working at Red Bowl a few months ago but said she fully agrees that it is home to the best Asian food in the area.

“I love it. I’ve eaten here for years, I thoroughly enjoy working here also,” Huffman said.

Huffman’s current favorite dish at Red Bowl is the chicken broccoli dish with fried rice, but she is still trying different dishes to determine which is the best they have to offer.

“I have a plan to try everything on the menu,” Huffman said.

The restaurant serves a variety of Asian cuisines including Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese dishes, so there are many menu options to choose from.

Huffman said she believes the restaurant environment and atmosphere are a big part of what keeps her and others coming back to Red Bowl. For those interested in trying out the restaurant,

Huffman said she thinks the amazing quality of the food is really what makes Red Bowl stand out from other Asian restaurants in the area.

“It’s amazing, it’s the best Asian food I’ve ever had,” Huffman said.

Runner up: Simply Thai

In the heart of downtown Graham, a restored 1850s building is now home to Press Crepes and Coffee. With the tagline “European inspired, Carolina made,” Press serves a menu of crepes ranging from European styles to southern classics.

Co-founder Jason Cox said the goal of Press was to bring people together.

“The origin is the idea of a community gathering space and then something a little fun,” Cox said.

Creating a space for the community to come together was essential to Cox when he first opened the restaurant. He said he felt that individuals rarely have the opportunity to come together with strangers in a comfortable environment and wanted to create that opportunity locally.

“I can have young kids who look like they just woke up on a Saturday, in sweats and big hoodies beside a group of 70-something blue-haired ladies that have lived in the community their whole lives,” Cox said. “And they’re across from a guy and his wife.”

With a range of options and prices, Press Crepes and Coffee brings together community members of all income levels and price points.

Cox said he believes that “if the average person who works in the same setting can’t eat there, then it’s not really a community place.”

Along with community gathering, Cox founded his business for a second purpose: downtown revitalization.

Press is “a downtown revitalization project disguised as a business,” according to Cox.

He likes to think that Press plays a role in bringing people, particularly Elon students, into downtown Graham. He believes that Graham has a lot to offer and he wants to introduce that to community members.

Cox is honored to have Press voted best breakfast, both as a reflection of his business and Elon student’s exploration into the local community.

Runner up: Angelina European Cafe

Nate Adams, owner of Chirba Chirba Dumpling Truck, grew up in Taiwan where his love for dumplings began. Adams and his business partners all went to school together at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and were “raised in between cultures.”

“The whole idea behind Chirba, the whole mission statement was, when all, partners and I, were together at school, at UNC, we couldn’t find Chinese food like we remembered, … so we started making it,” Adams said. “The idea behind Chirba is that with globalization, access to ingredients, knowledge, there should be no reason that kids and people here in North Carolina can’t have the same tasting dumplings that we had growing up in Asia, Taiwan for me, China for my partners.”

Adams described Chirba Chirba as “authentic Chinese food with Western style marketing,” meaning the ingredients are the same as traditional dumplings, but the names and descriptions of dishes are different in order to be more accessible to customers who might not have had dumplings before and don’t speak Chinese.

Chirba Chirba has been open for 13 years — and began as an operation in the dorms at UNC.

“We started trying to replicate food that we remembered in our dorms as best as we could,” Adams said. “Later on, we got much better at it. We always seemed to have some type of test stuff in the freezer. So we realized that people liked them whenever everyone would just invite themselves over to our place after going out on the town or whatever and just be like, ‘dumplings?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘All right, come on over.’”

Runner up: Bulkogi