Written by Max Prater

Every week, The Mirror highlights a business in the Springfield area that we think may be of interest to Drury students and faculty in the ‘Springfield Spotlight’ column. Business types covered range anywhere from restaurants and cafes to entertainment venues.

Gailey’s Breakfast Café

Gailey’s Breakfast Café is situated on Walnut Street in the heart of downtown Springfield. The eatery offers a variety of breakfast foods and is open 7 AM – 2 PM Sunday through Thursday, and 7 AM – 10 PM Friday and Saturday. We talked to Ethan Edwards, the general manager of Gailey’s, for the inside scoop.

History

Gailey’s has a surprisingly long history. Originally located on E. McDaniel Street, the restaurant was founded in the 1930s by Joe Gailey and his wife Buleah. At the time, and for many decades after, Gailey’s was a “corner drug store”, a popular 20th century nomenclature encompassing a diner, soda fountain and place to buy over-the-counter medication all in one location. “They also sold beer during the Prohibition era,” said Edwards, “which was a pretty big deal.”

In 1942, Gailey’s relocated to its current spot, the Hotel Seville. The Hotel Seville was a popular lodging destination in downtown Springfield. A good cross section of Springfield would come here, Edwards said, including local politicians, lawyers, doctors, and more.

Joe and Buleah passed away near the end of the century. “Everyone knew them, and they were really nice people,” Edwards said. “They would always be helping people, for example, giving someone in need a job downtown.”

After shutting down for a couple of years, Gailey’s was purchased and re-opened in 2003 by the current owners of Mudhouse / Mudlounge. The new owners, according to Edwards, envisioned an atmospheric breakfast venue for downtown Springfield, which was lacking at the time. Gailey’s filled that space. Since, two more owners have also taken over Gailey’s.

Currently, Gailey’s occupies three different rooms in the Hotel Seville building. The easternmost room was the original location of the drug store. A connecting room was once the lobby of the Hotel Seville. Lastly, a barroom once housed one of the first Great Southern Banks. Lofts above the restaurant are rented out to tenants.

Changes

“Gailey’s used to be a lot smaller and more quaint place that all the local downtown regulars knew about here,” Edwards said. “Now instead of doing chili, burgers and ice cream shakes (as well as selling pharmaceutical drugs), it’s breakfast, brunch and soon to be brinner.” Growth has been rampant in recent years.

A new host-waiting app allows customers to give Gailey’s their phone number. When a table is ready, they will receive a text notification.

Other changes include extended hours into the evening, a kitchen remodel (doubling in size), addition of dinner-style items to the menu for the nighttime crowd, and a new drink menu, which offers breakfast cocktails.

Signature Touch

Edwards listed some of the most popular menu items that he sees customers order at Gailey’s:

-The French Quarter, consisting of two pieces of French toast, two scrambled eggs with ham and cheddar, and a choice of sweet or hash browns.

-The Freedom Waffle, consisting of a waffle smothered in blueberries, strawberries and whipped cream, served with two eggs and choice of sausage links, patties or bacon.

-The Seville Omelet, an omelet filled with sausage, tomato, green pepper, roasted red pepper, mushroom, red onion, jalapeno, and cheddar cheese, topped with salsa, sour cream and cilantro.

Other particular dishes on the menu have been named after people in the Springfield community. An example is the Mystery Jeff, consisting of two eggs, sweet browns and a bowl of fresh fruit, yogurt and granola. The dish was named after Jeff Houghton, host of the popular local show The Mystery Hour.

Edwards says atmosphere is one of the biggest things that sets Gailey’s apart from other breakfast places in the Springfield community. “We have live music every weekend,” he said. The restaurant also hosts an art gallery, free for artists to use at no cost. “Any one who is a local artist simply needs to schedule a date with the curator.” Every few weeks, the art is switched out. The only room that doesn’t change, according to Edwards, is the pharmacy room, which contains old photos from Gailey’s and the Hotel Seville’s long past.