Berry staff member Melinda Lyons involved in bistro startup.
Dandy Lyons Bistro became the second Berry staff-owned and –operated restaurant locally to go belly up in the past two years when it closed its doors for good on Saturday, March 30.
Co-owned by Berry College’s Melinda Lyons, a secretary in the Campbell School of Business, Dandy Lyons was (briefly) known for never using canned foods, avoiding almost all frozen foods, and for buying produce locally.
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The owners, management, and staff of DandyLyons
Bistro spending time together in the now-closed bistro.
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The restaurant opened in October, joining Curlee’s Fish House & Oyster Bar, Brewhouse Music & Grill, and Swift & Finch Coffee as new eateries on Broad Street in Rome last year. And it joined Fat Nanny’s on a list of restaurants started (and subsequently closed) by Berry staffers.
Fat Nanny’s, a restaurant specializing in Southern cooking on Dean Avenue, closed last year after opening in August 2011. That restaurant, located in the former Deano’s Pizza, was started by Amy Summerlin, who worked in Berry’s institutional research department.
“There were several reasons we closed,” said Melinda Lyons, who co-owned the restaurant with her husband, Ray Lyons. “Certainly, [the] lack of business. But also our overhead was very high.”
Lyons said the amount of money it takes to run a business is a lot more than people realize. “It was a lot of work,” she said. “But we thought it was worth it. And it was.”
When asked what Lyons would do differently if she opened another restaurant, she said she would choose a different location.
“I think as far as the food goes, I would [keep it] the same,” she said. “Certainly the atmosphere [would stay the same].”
Lyons said she will most miss her loyal customers.
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| Dandy Lyons Bistro closed up March 30. |
“So many of them became like family,” she said.
According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, the Lyons family might continue the Dandy Lyons tradition in catering.
First-time Dandy Lyons customer, Lauren McDaniel, interviewed the restaurant’s last week of business, said she was overwhelmed with her experience. She said the atmosphere was warm, the staff hospitable and the food unexpected.
“I had no idea food made in such a healthy way could taste so good, and at such a great price,” McDaniel said.