Come in, take a seat -- and have a bite to eat

Nov 16, 2008 (The Hays Daily News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- MCD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- 1In the dining room, lace curtains frame the windows, black-and-white portraits hang on the walls, candles burn, and a group of hungry diners settles in for what promises to be a delectable meal.

"We like to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary," said Diane Wagner, owner of WaKeeney's new restaurant, Goodies Galore.

The new cafe opened Sept. 10 and is located on the main floor of 1906 Cottage Bed & Breakfast and Gifts, 510 Warren Ave.

The restaurant is open for breakfast, serving a variety of pastries, tea and coffee, and offers a one-menu lunch option.

And here at Goodies Galore, the only way to cook is to start from scratch, Wagner said.

"We like to do things from scratch, and we do that as much as possible," she said. "That's just kind of the way we do things."

Wagner and Ginny Parker, who helps with the cooking, said the chefs delight in going the extra step for comfort and quality.

Many of the herbs and spices are home-grown, homemade applesauce is made from hand-picked apples and bread and ice cream are made from scratch. Even the coffee cups are pre-warmed, and fruits and vegetables are canned for later use.

The restaurant also caters out and has plans to offer special Thanksgiving dinners on request.

Extra goodies, such as flavored popcorn, fudge, cookies and apple butter, also are packaged and ready to be taken home.

For Wagner and Parker, this restaurant was a perfect solution. Both have been in the food service industry for decades. Between the two, they have about 70 years of experience.

Wagner had been looking for a location to open a new restaurant, and the offer to use the bed and breakfast was a perfect opportunity, she said.

Only minimal remodeling was needed. One restroom was converted to a clean-up area with a three-vat sink, and the bed and breakfast now only offers one guest suite, as another was converted into a sitting area and public restroom.

Parker also had been looking for a chance to continue doing what she loves -- cooking. She's owned two restaurants of her own -- one of which was a Hutchinson pastry shop -- and recently moved back to her hometown of WaKeeney.

She also got her start at an early age, working at a satellite drive-through restaurant formerly located near Old U.S. Highway 40, she said.

"I was so small I had to stand on a milk crate in order to reach the grill," she said with a laugh, noting that might not comply with today's child labor laws.

The dishes prepared at Goodies Galore are similar to the dishes Parker served at her own restaurants.

"It's comfort food. You can't go to McDonald's and get it, you can't go anywhere downtown and get it," Parker said. "It's comfort food, it's made from scratch. ... It's the kind of stuff I've always wanted to do."

On the day's lunch menu was a chicken/bacon salad, served with red velvet cheesecake for dessert. And the restaurant, which can seat about 25 guests, was hopping with the arrival of the Red Hat Ladies of the Prairie, an Oakley-based group that stopped for lunch as part of their day's activities.

The two hosts take pleasure in customizing preparations and decor for each individual group, so the largest dining room was decked out in bright shades of red and purple to match the guests' attire.

The diner has hosted several special events, ranging from civic organizations to baby showers. While reservations are appreciated, walk-ins also are welcome during business hours.

To date, the two cooks have provided a different recipe every day for lunch, but did repeat their hot meatloaf sandwiches due to popular demand, Wagner said.

But between the two of them, they have plenty of recipes to go around, she said.

Wagner and Parker agree the fun part of their job is having the opportunity to be creative and innovate their recipes.

"It's kind of nice that no one is telling us what we can or can't do," Wagner said. "We can do our own thing."

"And everybody seems to love what we've been doing," Parker said, noting the team proudly serves traditional, homestyle food.

"We don't pull any punches with our meat loaf. It's straight-forward meatloaf," she said. "We're not gonna slip any peppers or anything in there on you."

"It's like I said, the ordinary into the extraordinary," Wagner agreed. "It's down-home, but it's not all down-home."

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