It’s Gravy To Them New Restaurant Owners Gladly Play New Role

The Glasgows always said they’d return the kindness others showed them when they could.

The new proprietors of a tiny Osburn cafe, they’re ready to make good on that promise.

“We just always seemed to find ourselves on the receiving end of the basket. But I told God if he’d put me in a position to give back, I would,” said Paula Glasgow, who with her husband, Raymond, will offer the first free Thanksgiving dinner available in Shoshone County in a couple of years.

Two years ago, the Glasgows lived in Olympia, where Ray worked for a contractor who was remodeling Kmarts. When that job ended, he started his own business. One day, on the roof of a trailer, he bent over to pick up a nail. For some reason, the simple motion ruptured a disc in his back.

“It threw our world into a tailspin. Things were really bad,” recalled Paula, 38.

The Glasgows’ church community pulled them through the crisis, but about a year and a half ago, they decided to move to the Silver Valley, where Paula’s father is a pastor.

Again they hit a financial rough patch, and again a church, this time Smelterville’s Pentecostal Tabernacle, pulled them through.

“People have been so good to us,” Paula said.

Five weeks ago, the Glasgows took over Osburn’s Homestead Cafe (formerly the Evergreen). It was a decision arrived at with more prayer than logic.

“I’d never worked in a restaurant before in my life,” admitted Raymond, 35, now the cafe’s main chef. “Paula’s waited tables some, but it’s a real challenge for her, too.”

But after fasting and praying for five days, the Glasgows were convinced that God wanted them in the restaurant business. They hired an experienced waitress to help Paula through the cafe’s busiest hours. A brother-in-law pitches in in the kitchen when needed.

“I never expected to be able to do what we’ve done in the last month,” said Raymond. “We still have a lot to learn, about managing money, managing the food. But it’s going great.”

The free Thanksgiving dinner is also coming together. By Monday morning, customers had dropped $237 in a coffee can near the cash register to help defray the cost of the food. Volunteers from the Pentecostal Tabernacle will serve and clean up after the meal. The Glasgows are prepared to feed 200.

“If there are elderly people who don’t want to cook, or people who don’t have somebody to spend the holiday with, I hope they’ll come,” said Paula.

Located at 713 E. Mullan in Osburn, the Homestead Cafe will serve its free turkey dinner from noon to 3 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day.