Gleason's Galley Moves to Main

WAITSBURG – Karen Gleason has been happily serving up breakfasts and sandwiches at her cheery mobile unit next to the Ag Link building here since she opened shop last Mother's Day. But she was getting a bit worried about not having indoor dining facilities with cooler weather just around the corner.

On Tuesday, Gleason's Galley moved to Main Street, occupying the former home of Carmen's Deli, located between the Plaza Theater and Waitsburg Grocery. Gleason is not only happy to provide her restaurant patrons with a warm place to eat; she's also hoping to provide a safe place for kids to hang out in an adjoining arcade.

Gleason closed her mobile shop last month, when what was intended to be a donation run turned into a short-term job. Gleason ended up with six huge roasts, left over from serving at the Gentlemen of the Road event in Walla Walla, and decided to donate them to the firefighters in Pomeroy.

After gaining permission to deliver the goods, Gleason received a call asking if she could serve dinner for 50 people in Pomeroy that very night. She left Waitsburg at 2 p.m. and when she arrived in Pomeroy she was told there had been a "change of plans."

She was then sent, with her mobile unit, to feed dinner to 150 firefighter in Troy, Ore. at 8 p.m. that night. Not only that, but she was asked to feed them breakfast the next morning and have 150 sack meals ready to go the next day.

Gleason said she did the best she could. The unit she'd taken didn't have a grill or fryer. 'We flew by the seat of our pants," she said. She ran the unit off extension cords and made eggs, oatmeal, and whatever she could for breakfast in roasters each day.

Gleason said she got 11 hours of sleep in 15 days. She had to drive to Lewiston for supplies each day. Dinner was served from 6-9 p.m., then they would do clean-up before preparing for breakfast. Once breakfast was prepped they would start putting together the sack lunches, because a hot breakfast was due at 5 a.m.

Gleason and her crew; Amanda Eaton, Santana Elliott, George Alexander, Leah Long, Chris Cady and Tyler Baxter, moved to the Bluewood camp after about a week. She said the conditions for firefighters at Bluewood were much better than those at Troy.

When she got back to Waitsburg, Gleason said she was so exhausted she took some time to just recover. That's when she began talking to Richard Lybecker about the possibility of renting his building on the corner of Main and Coppei and learned that the Main Street location was available.

She set to work cleaning and painting and opened her doors on Tuesday. She is thrilled with the larger space that will allow her to do so much more than she could with her mobile unit. "With a small unit you had to be completely strategic. You can really only make one thing at a time," she said.

Gleason says she plans to stick with the comfort food she is known for. "If it feels like Mom would have cooked it, you'll find it here," she said.

She also plans to stick with her rule of everything being homemade – no mixes or packaged items. She intends to offer a soup and salad bar and will stay open for dinner, as well as breakfast and lunch.

She's also planning to take orders and deliver meals to visiting sports teams. And during the winter, Gleason's Galley will deliver meals to those who can't (or don't want to) get out in the cold and ice.

As far as décor, she's sticking with the galley theme. A large saltwater tank will stand just inside the door, and she's on the hunt for an octopus to go inside it. Bistro tables and chairs will sit outside the shop under crisp blue and white striped awnings.

Something completely new will be the addition of an arcade in the building adjoining the restaurant. Gleason has purchased nine Atari-type arcade games from an out-of-business arcade in Walla Walla and hopes to create a warm, safe hangout for kids.

"We're going to have cameras so we can see what's going on and it will be zero tolerance," she said. "But I really want to do something to benefit the community. That's what it's all about. Trying to figure out what the community needs and do what I can to fill that need," she said.