By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
As first responders, Chance and Brittney Bailey have been answering the call in Ellinwood for years. Now, they're answering a different type of call. The Baileys, along with Jarett and Audrey Mermis, announced the future opening of a new diner in Ellinwood.
"There's definitely a need," Brittney said. "We don't have a restaurant that's open in the evening or on the weekends. We wanted to be able to fulfill that need. We also want to be able to give back. That's how the mission was born."
Chance is the Ellinwood chief of police, and Brittney is the Ellinwood EMS director. Jarett is a captain for the Chase Fire Department, and Audrey works part-time with Ellinwood EMS and as a first responder in Chase. They came up with a suitable name - 10-39 Cafe - that represents emergency response with lights and siren.
"We were bouncing around ideas for names," Brittney said, "and we just said, 'What if we named it 10-39 Cafe?' just because we're all in emergency services and we decided we love that, especially when we'd already decided to want to give back to local first-responder agencies."
Diners at the restaurant will have the opportunity to round up their bills. Proceeds will be donated to local first responders, and the group also wants to establish a scholarship fund to be used for area students wishing to pursue a career as firefighters or EMS personnel.
The cafe will serve diner-style food such as burgers, chicken strips, and steak fingers. The owners are also planning to have a daily special, and they hope to have a steak night and serve breakfast in the future. The goal is to have the restaurant operational within six to nine months.
Capacity for the cafe, which will also feature delivery and carryout, is still unknown as the group begins to renovate the old Magento repair shop at 104 W. 1st Street in Ellinwood, but the plan is to have bar and table seating inside with additional patio seating. Hours of operation are also undetermined though plans are to serve lunch and dinner six days a week.
All four owners intend to keep their current first-responder jobs and a manager has been hired to run the cafe. Earlier this week, 10-39 Cafe was named as one of 10 semifinalists in Great Bend Economic Development's IGNITE Rural Business contest. The winner will receive a $50,000 prize to further develop their business.