After buying a camp on Eagle Lake a few years ago, Cecily and John Mathis felt there was something missing.

The Claiborne County-based couple bought the camp for recreational and social purposes, but they noticed the community was missing a central hub, a place where people could gather, meet new people and enjoy themselves.

“There wasn’t really anywhere to go,” John said. “There was a country store, but if you wanted a hamburger, you had to drive 15 to 20 miles or cook it yourself. There wasn’t really anywhere to go for social purposes or you had to create it yourself.”

The retired duo decided to do something about it. They bought a historic building last July and on Labor Day they opened the new Lo Sto Sports Bar and Restaurant.

“There’s great people up here on Eagle Lake but there was really no place to go,” John said. “We decided we’d take a shot at it. We’re both project people; we worked for an engineering/construction company. We still had a lot of fire in our belly, and we like a challenge.”

Lo Sto offers a breakfast, American fare, a blue-plate lunch and an assortment of drinks. John said people can come by vehicle or boat and expect to find “smiling faces, a relaxed, fun environment and good country cooking.”

More than anything, John said, Lo Sto is a gathering place, complete with a juke box, pool table and darts.

“When kids start coming up here on the weekends, you’ll see them playing pool and listening to the juke box,” he said. “They get up here, and they say, ‘We want to go to the Lo Sto.’ It’s a safe place.”

The historic store was once down lower on the lake, and the name Lo Sto came from the way people called it the low store.

John’s wife Cecily said so far retirement has been harder than having a real job, but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We have met some of the most wonderful people,” she said. “They’re people we wouldn’t have met if we didn’t have all this. We have our own little circle of people we dealt with, but since we opened this, we’ve realized there’s a lot more good people out here at Eagle Lake.”

Hours are Monday and Tuesday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. until late; and Sunday, 9 a.m. until 2 a.m. For more information, call 601-279-4458 or visit Lo Sto at 176 Lo-Sto Road.