THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608100083
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: Rebecca Myers Cutchins
LENGTH: 95 lines
KAREN ``MIMI'' BAILEY has twirled enough cotton candy to make her head spin.
She has worked in the rain so many times that her clothes sometimes need as much wringing as the lemons and limes she squeezes at her sidewalk drink stands.
And she's now at the point where she can smile - but not yet laugh - about the day a strong gust of wind plunged one of her lemonade stands into the Elizabeth River.
The crew of a tuna boat fished it out for her.
In the world of push-cart vendors, Bailey has definitely paid her dues.
``I've lost my mind pretty much, but I love it,'' said Bailey. ``I truly do.''
Even so, the Portsmouth native has decided to take her specialty drinks inside, recently opening an old-fashioned soda and sandwich shop called O'Bailey's Cafe at 3210 High St.
In addition to preparing drinks from freshly squeezed lemons, limes and oranges, the eatery carries out an Irish theme with offerings such as a ``shamrock chef salad'' and sandwiches bearing surnames like ``Kilpatrick'' and ``McPhersen.'' It opened June 26 in what had been Maddy's Diner.
``I've got a little Irish background in me,'' said Bailey, who named one of her sandwiches ``O'Kelly'' in honor of her grandmother. The O'Kelly is a hotroast beef sandwich topped with melted swiss cheese and served au jus.
Another sandwich, the ``O'Jackie Pita,'' was named after Bailey's friend and mentor, Jack Lofton, owner of Portside's Mexican eatery, Casa Rio. The sandwich contains grilled chicken breast and fresh veggies mixed with pepper parmesan dressing.
``Jack got me involved in the lemonade stand and this restaurant,'' said Bailey, a 1978 graduate of Manor High School. ``I wanted to do something for him, and he was tickled to death when he came in and he saw it on the menu.''
Bailey does most of the cooking herself, preparing homemade desserts like chocolate eclair pie, banana pudding and chocolate chip cookies. She also makes homemade chicken and tuna salads and Irish potato soup. Her weekly lunch specials include ham and cabbage and chicken and dumplings.
``Basically, we do a lot of good deli sandwiches, but we also offer one good hot meal a day along with the sandwiches.''
Beverages include lemon-, lime- and orangeades, and every variation of the three, with cherries added to some.
``I tried to think of all the drinks that the old Karp's Pharmacy used to do when I was a kid,'' said Bailey, 36.
``I loved their cherry lemonades. I used to go in there and get them all the time, so I had to have one of those'' on the menu, she said.
As a child growing up in Park Manor, Bailey recalls setting up lemonade stands on the lawn of her grandmother's home instead of her own because Grandma ``had more traffic on her road.''
``In fact, my grandparents had a little confectionary store in Newtown many years ago,'' she said, ``and I have my grandparents' old milk-shake mixer that came out of their confectionary. It's about 70 years old.''
Contrary to what some people may think, taking refuge from the elements was not the impetus for Bailey's newest business venture.
``I love being outside,'' said Bailey. ``It was hard for me to say I was going to go inside and not be outside in the summertime anymore.''
So she didn't.
With help from friends and family, Bailey continues to operate her beverage stands on the side. Her Portside stand, which she started in 1992, is open every weekend. Her Waterside cart was started a year later and is open seven days a week from May through October near the Spirit of Norfolk. Recently, Bailey even bought a third cart, which will roam between festivals.
Because her drink stands are a seasonal business, Bailey had also been operating a franchise of Yard Cards, 8-foot-tall wooden greeting cards that can be rented and placed on the lawns of those celebrating birthdays, graduations and anniversaries.
``I've got to give something up and that's got to be it,'' she said of the card business she started six years ago.
Before becoming self-employed, Bailey worked for the commissioner of the revenue for six years. She had also worked part-time with Spertner Jewelers at Tower Mall since was 16. She left her city job in 1988, two years after being in a severe car accident in which she broke both legs and damaged her jaw.
After the accident, which Bailey said was caused by a drunk driver, she had to learn to walk again. She also had to have an artificial joint put in her face.
Such is the reason O'Bailey's won't be serving any beer. Bailey wants to keep it an alcohol-free establishment.
``I don't want to be responsible for anybody being out on the road after being here and having something happen to them,'' she said.
``I just couldn't live with it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photos by MARK MITCHELL
Karen Bailey's lemonade cart at Waterside is open seven days a week
from May through October.
Bailey's newest venture is her restaurant, O'Bailey's Cafe, left,
where she serves up salads and sandwiches with an Irish theme. She
also stills squeezes fresh fruits for her specialty drinks.
KEYWORDS: FOOD VENDOR by CNB