Caring community supports newly reopened Ellsworth Cafe
ELLSWORTH — Not much usually goes on in this small community, but folks looking for a place to meet and mingle with the town’s residents should look no further than The Ellsworth Cafe.
After closing Dec. 31, 2014, the cafe reopened May 1 when new ownership took over in March. The grand opening took place Saturday.
“We have a lot of fun here,” said Judy Rosenberg, an Ellsworth Cafe patron.
“It was really missed when it was closed,” said Dorothy Hocking, another Ellsworth Cafe-goer.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, a group of ladies meet and sit at the only round table in the cafe to catch up with one another.
“We call it the ‘Round Robin,’” Hocking said. “It’s a way for us to find out how everyone is doing.”
The “Round Robin” contingent loves the cafe as much as its members care for one another.
“This place means everything to the town,” Hocking said.
New owners Karen Dreesen and Sandy Sanders said Ellsworth residents have really come together in support of the cafe.
“It’s great to have community support,” Sanders said. “The community helped us clean and get the place ready to reopen. That’s why we could open so quickly after buying.”
However, the ladies gave a huge amount of credit to their husbands, Gene Sanders and Orvel Dreesen, for doing most of the renovations.
The couples spent every Saturday and every evening for six weeks cleaning and renovating the cafe. The men installed new floors and ceiling tiles while the women painted and cleaned.
“We couldn’t have done this without Orvel and Gene,” Dreesen said. “They are handy men.”
Keeping the cafe open in town was important to Sanders and Dreesen.
“We thought the people in town had to have a place to come and have a place to eat,” Dreesen said. “Otherwise, there is no place to go.”
The new owners do not expect the cafe to bring them vast wealth, but it will bring them happiness.
“It wasn’t like we needed more to do,” Dreesen said. “It’s not a money-making business, but we wanted to keep it open for the people of Ellsworth.”
The cafe is located at 303 South Broadway St. in Ellsworth. It’s open from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6:30 to 10 a.m. Saturday.
