It’s 11 a.m. at B&F Auto Sales & Parts, and mingling with the smell of tires and oil pans come the scents of homemade cornbread, fried chicken and pinto beans.

Between running a business and overseeing nine employees, Curtis “Spike” Barnes finds time to cook and feed them, too.

“It’s a way to get away from the phone, but I enjoy cooking, too,” he said.

His culinary cheer spreads beyond those under his employ. UPS driver Casey Bolen has been dropping by for lunch for the past six years on his delivery route.

“Spike’s a great guy, what he does for these guys over here,” he said while filling his plate.

“He makes anything and everything,” said Mr. Barnes’ mother, Peggy Quihuiz, who admits he didn’t get his knack for cooking from her. It came from his grandmother, his wife and mother-in-law. Mrs. Quihuiz simply helps him with the books.

Mr. Barnes said he spent a lot of time with his grandmother when he was young “and stayed in the kitchen a lot with her, too, and watched her cook.”

His wife’s a good cook too, he said, “but she’s mostly a pizza-and-dessert person, a good baker.”

He learned his way around the kitchen after awaking one morning wanting biscuits and gravy.

“So I remembered how my grandmother did it and started cooking,” he said.

His work kitchen, just off the office area, is fully stocked with a stove, refrigerator, sink and table.

By midmorning on a recent day, pots and pans were filled with foods for lunch. Mr. Barnes occasionally checked the progress of oven-fried chicken and a pan of made-from-scratch cornbread. The potatoes had been boiled, with plenty of butter and cream set aside for mashing. The pinto beans had been simmering for hours.

“But pinto beans don’t fill these guys up,” he said. “We’ve got some pretty hearty eaters here.”

He added coleslaw to fill out the menu, noting that he never uses recipes. “I just do it. I’ve cooked these things so much for so long.”

For the pinto beans, he used a trick he learned from his mother.

“She taught me that you bring the beans to a boil, then let them sit for a half-hour, then you let them cook for a few hours till they’re soft. I put them on about 8:30 this morning. They’re usually done by 11:15.”

Mechanic David Brooks ate burgers for years at lunchtime before taking a job at B&F Auto Sales three years ago. He considers the meals Mr. Barnes prepares as a wonderful perk.

“It’s one of the great parts about working here,” he said, adding that his favorite lunch is when the menu includes pork roast, black-eyed peas and mashed potatoes.

“They’ve all got their favorites,” Mr. Barnes said.

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