Gallery Cafe opens with new captain

DECATUR —“He sure hasn’t lost his touch,” a customer exclaimed as he exited a building Sept. 8.

What the customer was referring to is the opening of The Gallery Cafe, one of downtown Decatur’s predominant eateries.

Like all restaurants, The Gallery was forced to close its doors March 20 after Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered nonessential businesses to shut down in order to combat the spread of the covid-19 virus.

Once the shutdown reached into the third month, many of these businesses simply closed their doors forever. As for The Gallery, Carol Thompson decided to put it up for sale just before the shutdown in March. She moved her operations to Gravette once government officials opened the state. May, June, July went by and the doors remained closed, forcing Gallery customers to find a new diner.

Then toward the end of July, rumors began circulating throughout the Decatur area someone was looking to buy The Gallery and open it, serving the same menu for which the restaurant was known.

After gaining approval for the purchase, a deal was made with Thompson, and former chef James McAdams took possession of The Gallery. His reason for buying the popular eatery was simple: he didn’t want to see it close permanently.

Amber Mejia, who worked for Thompson for many years, was named the new manager. Since early August, Mejia, along with most of the former waitresses and kitchen staff, went to work refurbishing the interior of the restaurant, which includes new paint, recovered booth seats, new artwork and photos of Decatur history. There were some days McAdams and his crew worked long hours, sometimes from 2 a.m. until 11 p.m. to get The Gallery opened

One thing the crew had to do was to make The Gallery covid-19 compliant. This meant the long old-time talkers’ table that graced the middle of the main dining area was removed, as were tables in the old Razorback room and meeting room. Some of the booths were blocked to meet the 6-foot social distancing requirement. At present, The Gallery is only able to accommodate about 60% of its pre-covid capacity.

The Gallery opened its doors Sept. 8 to a flurry of old familiar faces, as well as a stream of new customers.

The menu stayed the same, with old familiar items such as chicken fried steak, hamburgers, catfish and, of course, the customers’ favorite pies and cakes.

“This food is what the customers have been counting on all these years,” McAdams said. “They like and enjoy the food, so I didn’t see any problem leaving the menu the same.”

The Gallery hours are from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For now, The Gallery will close Monday, giving McAdams and his crew at least one day off with the possibility of a second day alternating through the week.

( NWA Democrat-Gazette/Mike Eckels) James McAdams III, who has been cooking in this kitchen for the past 13 years, enjoys a little break before the summer rush at the Gallery Cafe in Decatur. McAdams purchased the popular Decatur restaurant from Carol Thompson in late August and opened it for business Sept. 8.

( NWA Democrat-Gazette/Mike Eckels) Mandy Hobbs works to fill a take-out order in the Gallery’s service area. The popular home cooking restaurant opened its doors in downtown Decatur Sept. 8 after the covid-19 outbreak closed all restaurants in March.