For more than five decades, Shirley Bailey made sure the Chaperral Café in downtown Shelbyville was more than a local eatery.
Gary Thomas knew that all too well.
“I’ve known Shirley my whole life. She has known my grandparents on both sides. She knows everybody,” explained Thomas, who now owns the Chaperral Café, 14 E. Broadway, and reopened it Tuesday morning. “Growing up, I always saw people that were single, men and women, and no family, come in here and they were her regulars. She would feed them every day and that was their meal. She continued to do that over the years and years and years.”
At the age of 87, Bailey (photo) finally had to step away from the business. The café sat dormant for several months until Thomas stepped up to a new challenge.
“(Shirley) has a big following. I just wanted it to continue,” said Thomas. “That’s basically why I stepped in and bought the business.”
Thomas (photo, back row left) turned the lights back on, brought back the staff and didn’t change a thing on the menu.
“It was not that hard at all,” he said. “As soon as we opened the doors, all the old customers came back. The same people that depend on meals here are here. We have some that come in here and have no money and we make sure they get fed.”
The only change is a modification of when the restaurant is open – 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Bailey is currently enjoying retirement. Her family has been helpful with Thomas getting the restaurant reopened. The goal is to have her visit sometime in the near future to talk with the customers so used to seeing her in the kitchen.
“Whenever she feels like it,” said Thomas, who sees this venture as an investment in his community and not a way to cash in on Bailey’s legacy.
“There are not very many places left where you can go have a good home-cooked meal in a family atmosphere,” said Thomas, who is retired from the newspaper industry and owns a business in Edinburgh. “That’s what we have going here.”
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