CUMBERLAND – All week long at the Cumberland Fair, a group of volunteers serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. But it’s not “fair food” that attracts customers.

“All the food is homemade,” said Carol West, volunteer cook and member of the First Congregational Church in Gray, who wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to bake muffins, pies and cookies to serve to fairgoers.

Located in a small white building on the Cumberland Fairgrounds, the Barnyard Restaurant, formerly known by longtime fairgoers as Emily’s Restaurant, is where the fun takes place.

From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday, about 15 volunteers roll up their sleeves, some who aren’t church members, to run the restaurant leased annually to the church by Cumberland Farmers Club starting eight years ago, West said.

With knowledge of the restaurant business, West put forth a proposal to run the restaurant to the church council, which immediately took an interest in the idea.

“We gave it a try and got good reviews,” West said, “and we’ve continued to do it every year since.”

Shifts of church members and their friends serve three meals daily. Breakfast begins at 6 a.m., serving farm fresh eggs, with bacon or sausage, buttermilk pancakes, French toast, home fries and homemade muffins. During lunch, patrons at the restaurant can enjoy a variety of sandwiches, soups and salads, and for supper, American chop suey, a baked bean dinner or special of the day. Corn chowder is made fresh every day, West said.

“Our basic menu has stayed the same,” West said, “and every day we have a dinner special. Today, we have roast pork,” she said Monday. “Yesterday, we had barbecue chicken.”

At the Barnyard Restaurant, every dish is made on site by volunteers, ages 15 to 92, according to assistant cook Judy Burnham, a longtime member of the church located in downtown Gray on Route 115.

“It’s just wonderful,” she said. “To volunteer makes you feel that you belong, that you’ve got other friends that you can depend on if you need anything.”

Every penny the restaurant earns during the week supplements the church’s budget, West said. A major portion of the money earned through the years has gone toward repairs to the church building.

“There is always something that needs repair,” West said. “We need a new roof for the church, so that’s probably where the profits will go this year. Economic times, being what they are, a lot of churches are struggling.”

The food served at the Barnyard Restaurant not only feeds the body but food sales, which amount to about $8,000 for the week, go to help the wider community, West said, referring to Meals on Wheels and the church’s own food pantry that serves individuals and families in the Gray area.

“This is my getaway,” said volunteer Betty Mills, who has a long history of working in restaurants and has volunteered at the fair for three years. “It’s a warm building. It feels like home,” she said of the small eatery located at the edge of the fairgrounds near the Blanchard Road entrance.

“It’s enlightening,” said Ruth Foster, another volunteer, about donating her time to serve fairgoers. “It’s very rewarding.”

But the volunteers aren’t the only ones who enjoy being at the restaurant. Kelly Hasselbach, from Stoneham, and Chuck Peck, from Virginia Beach, Va., on Monday, who both ate lunch, said they loved and appreciated the food.

“It was delicious,” said Hasselbach, who had corn chowder and biscuits. When choosing where to buy food at the fair, Hasselbach said she tends to eat at the church-sponsored food vendors.

“Plus, it’s home-cooked and it’s a place to come in from the cold,” she said.

“I had a tuna sandwich,” said Peck, a first-time Cumberland Fair-goer. “It was excellent.”

“They treat us well,” said fair president Mike Timmons, as he sat at the restaurant’s counter eating an open-faced turkey sandwich.

According to Timmons, there is truly no other place on the fairgrounds quite like the Barnyard Restaurant.

“It’s clean, and they make good food,” he said.

Customer Dick Libby, left, enjoys a bowl of corn chowder at the Barnyard Restaurant, while manager Carol West jokes with Mike Timmons, president of the Cumberland Fair, who dropped by for lunch. Mona Dodd and Mary Googins prepare food in the restaurant kitchen, operated annually by the First Congregational Church of Gray.Miriam Bisbee of Gray waits to cash out customers at the Barnyard Restaurant.Judy Burnham prepares to deliver two hot bowls of corn chowder to a customer at the Barnyard Restaurant during the Monday lunch.