Drake, who operates Prestige Food, took over the former church's kitchen and fellowship hall with his food service, which operates similarly to a cafeteria, he said.

"It's a cafeteria-style combination of Piccadilly and Subway," Drake said. "And we are open to the entire Athens community and not just the students and faculty of Piedmont College."

The line includes a steam table where customers can look at the food and order it, but they also can have the cafe personnel build a sandwich for them, the way they like it, Drake said.

A kitchen staff of five, led by Bonnie Mallory and Henry Branch, prepare salads, sandwiches, meats, vegetables and many of the items - like fried onion rings - are cooked fresh when ordered. Every day a special, such as pepper steak, rice and green beans, is offered for $4.75. The daily menu also features several 99 cent items such as a chicken tenders, a hamburger or a baked potato. An average meal costs between $5 and $6.

Sandwiches range from burgers to fish sandwiches to a chicken salad sandwich, and diners can choose to have their ingredients on regular or pita bread.

The dining area, which can handle up to 200 people, is divided into two areas, one that serves as a public area and one that can provide a private room for functions for business associations or other groups, Drake said. The cafe will host a religious conference of 150 people in February, he said.

The Cafe on Prince currently serves lunch and dinner, but eventually Drake wants to begin offering breakfast.

Even though the Cafe on Prince was started to serve the Piedmont College students, Drake plans to continue operating during the school's breaks, such as the upcoming holidays.

"This is our first challenge, the Christmas break," Drake said. "We'll modify our hours once classes are out as of Dec. 6 and operate just from 11-2 until classes resume."

Drake worries that if he closes up for a month, nonstudents who might be dining there regularly will stop coming, thinking it's closed.

"The main reason we're there is because of the students and the school, but we have to be sensitive to the public's needs," he said.

Piedmont College administrators wanted to have more than a coffee and sandwich shop, and put the service up for bids, said Drake, who had provided service for Athens Academy and Westminster. His company also services two schools in Atlanta.

Drake earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Georgia and cooked fish for a living when he was in school. He worked for a while as a consultant with IBM and was flying often between his home in Greensboro and New York City until the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

After that, Drake downsized his consulting practice and set up a food service providing meals to the jail in Greensboro. He then expanded to serving schools and UGA football functions.