Two months after opening, she was at the register when she suddenly felt the chill of a gun at the side of her head. The intruder hog-tied her and her husband in the basement and, she says, would likely have shot them both if Robert Tyree hadn't "talked him down."
Then the recession hit - and it hit hard. Business slowed as neighbors lost their jobs.
"We talked about whether to cut our hours," Kelly Tyree said, "and we seriously discussed shutting down."
They decided to cut back on the cafe's hours, opening now for breakfast and lunch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and for brunch on Sunday.
And at the same time, they opted to expand into an adjoining space in order to offer Saturday morning cooking classes and an exclusive chef's table dinner for a dozen people every Friday night.
Devitt McShain did the heavy work, breaking through a wall to connect the cafe with a space that housed a pharmacy in 1883 and a butcher shop in the 1950s. The original 12-foot butcher block and two walk-in freezers remained in place, along with a sign that reads, "For Those Who Want The Best." Why take that down?
Chef David Salvatore came on board to lead hands-on cooking classes on Saturdays and exclusive farm-to-table dinners.
Salvatore said he hoped to replicate the success of Talula's Table in Kennett Square, which offers an eight-course BYOB dinner for just one table of eight to twelve people.
