Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, October 19, 1993 TAG: 9310200287
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER Staff writer
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Or they will be, when they open the new Main Street Cafe.
Williams had wanted to open a small cafe and catering service for a long time. She studied nutrition when she was in college, but ended up going into management and working in the payroll and personnel office for the town of Pulaski.
Lester cooked for seven years at the Radford Arsenal, three years at the Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp. plant in Pulaski County, and for almost two years at Emily Virginia's in Dublin.
``That's my joy, is cooking,'' she said.
It was Gary Edwards, a friend of Christi and her husband, Pulaski Police Chief E.J. Williams, who brought the two women together in what has become their joint venture.
For Christi Williams, the project has been a family affair. Her mother, Muriel Comer; her sister, L.E. Hyde; her daughter, Stacie Williams; and her grandmother, Mae Hash, have all helped renovate the former Hercules Cafe to turn it into something new.
Comer is a decorator, a talent which has come in handy. Hash has been busy painting much of the place.
Williams said her husband has been supportive ``to tell me to go for my dream,'' but she hasn't been able to recruit him as a cook. ``He wouldn't leave his job,'' she said.
She still hopes to persuade him to provide the cafe with an occasional pecan pie.
Williams had wanted to open a cafe for about six years, but Main Street seemed to offer little support until Roscoe Cox became director of the Pulaski Main Street Inc. program a year ago, she said.
``Since Roscoe has been working with the program, I think he's given Pulaski a lot to be proud of,'' she said. ``It's gone back to the way it used to be.''
Williams, who grew up in Pulaski, remembers when she and her sisters came downtown to visit various stores, soda, fountains and tape outlets. ``During the summer and weekends, we used to stay down here a lot,'' she said.
She plans to be open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. once business starts, and will save evenings for special events. She hopes to provide a place for church groups and bridge clubs to meet, for community gatherings and children's birthday parties.
``We'll be doing some catering also,'' she said. That could include small office events, meetings, special dinners and weddings.
``I'd like to start a coffee club,'' she said.''
She plans to serve gourmet coffees and sell those that prove most popular with customers. ``I want to do what people want,'' she said.
Besides homemade breakfasts and deli meats among the luncheon sandwiches, she has some specialties in mind. ``I'm going to try out a quarter pound hot dog and see how those go over,'' she said.
But there will be no alcoholic beverages.
``I want this to be a wholesome family place,'' she said.
by CNB