There are few places with more historical weight in Madison than Main Street itself. As the city grew, this street has remained, in many ways, a symbol of where our town has come from and how far it has grown over the years. It is no surprise then to see how much support Main Street Cafe received both during their reconstruction process and after their recent re-opening. After just seven weeks of renovations following a fire in July, the cafe opened its doors once again as good as new. One week after their grand re-opening, the cafe is full of excited and hungry customers.
“Once the fire was put out, we were eager to assess the damage,” Raegan Hall, the media manager for the restaurant, told us. “We immediately wanted to see how fast we could reopen.” While most of the interior was left undamaged, smoke damage lead to Main Street Cafe closing their doors for repairs. “Everyone was excited to get back to work. Our servers and kitchen staff came in to help us fix and clean the damage. They didn’t have to do that but they insisted. They wanted us to reopen.”
Tammy Hall, owner of Main Street Cafe, spoke about this whole event miraculously became an opportunity of perpetual giving and support in the city. “Immediately we saw so much support, from the community sending us flowers and notes, to our fellow businesses here on Main Street, to the contractors who helped us open our doors again. It felt like all of Madison came out to help us in our time of need and we are truly thankful for that. We didn’t realize until we had to close how empty Main Street felt without all the foot traffic we got. All these people feed into our neighboring businesses too, so I was even more anxious to reopen. I wanted to give back to the businesses who supported us so much.”
Slowly but surely, the customers have come back to eat at Main Street Cafe, and after one week everything feels like it has returned to normal. Customers are greeted with the same quality dining experience they had come to expect after all these years. The staff is as warm and friendly as ever, the food is delicious, and the atmosphere is still welcoming. On days where it is cool enough, the patio is open for meals to enjoy the beautiful weather and clear blue skies.
