DIXON, CA (MPG) - “We we’re dating and I’ll never forget it,” said David Pingleton, USAF DC-10 aviator and husband of Chef Carlee Pingleton, owner of Dixon’s first Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation that opened in January. He knew he was in love when he tasted her Butternut Squash Soup.

‘Hangar 1878’ is a home-based restaurant permitted by the Solano County Department of Resource Management Environmental Health Division that Carlee established in their new home near Dixon High School.

Carlee, who was born and raised in Dixon, was a student in Hospitality Management who love to cook, when the two met. David, who is from the south, became the willing test pilot in their relationship admitting that he had a “simple pallet” and that she was “appalled I went to McDonald’s.”

“He ate boxed meals, canned veggies, and microwaved food,” Carlee said, looking all the bit of a professional chef at a long granite counter in her Dixon kitchen. “He didn’t even like carrots…or chicken.” David came in from the living room where he had been playing with their 2-year-old daughter.

“She taught me about flavors and texture, and it really started opening up my mind,” he said while watching his wife spread flour all over the counter and knead a large blob of dough, then press large circles into it. She’s making “soon-to-be famous Southern Buttermilk Biscuits,” she said.

“This is something I love to do, and I can be a stay-at-home mom and don’t have to miss out on all those things,” she said. “The children love all the cooking we do anytime we host birthdays and get-togethers,” she said. Their other two children are in school.

An aroma from fresh baked biscuits begin to fill the air. The way this restaurant works is you go online, see her menu that’s posted with pictures, and order through her website or by calling. Her specialties are Southern dishes like St. Louis Style Ribs, Mac N’ Cheese, and Southern Succotash. The Southern Comfort Menu also consists of Buttermilk Fried chicken, Chicken and Brisket Brunswick Stew, Smothered Pork Chop, Sauteed Green Beans, Fried Potato Gratin, Braised Collard Greens, Buttermilk Biscuits and Cornbread Muffins.

When her husband was assigned to Illinois for three years, she felt lucky because that was his home and his family showed her all around. They also introduced her to southern style cooking.

“That’s where I really got my barbecue skills and an understanding to cook a meat for 12 hours,” she said. “I really fell in love with the style of cooking there.”

When they moved back to Dixon in 2017, Carlee finished her AA degree from American River College where they are well known for their culinary program. They have a restaurant on campus, and they have an internship where students learn the front and the back of the house, she explained.

In 2021 with children a bit older, she knew what she wanted to do and applied for her Dixon business license. They didn’t know what to do with her, though, initially the city put her through “lots of trouble.” She chose the name Hangar 1878 after her husband’s career and secondly, when Dixon was incorporated since she’s related to one of the founding families of Schroeders. Carlee sought help from the Solano County Small Business Development Center.

“I don’t know if I could have opened without them. I was the first one in Dixon,” she said. “I could have opened last year. The easy part was the County. It took only two weeks to inspect and approve. That’s why I wanted to spread the word. I don’t want new chefs to hassle with it like I did so if I can smooth the way for them, that would be amazing.”

Now that she’s open, she’s had a lot of people she know"'“friends, relatives, and friends of relatives”"'become customers. The buttermilk biscuit is hot, flakey, golden-topped, and delicious. She has a new customer.

Carlee hopes to someday have a ‘brick and mortar place’ but for now she’s on Facebook and Instagram to take orders. For more information call (707) 474-2061 or go to www.foodnome.com/hangar1878.