Published: May 07, 2008 01:13 am            

Stepping Back in Time

Grapeland grocery store gets new life as cafe, creamery

GRAPELAND — Nostalgia hangs heavy in the air as Beverly Chapman strides through her historic restaurant in Grapeland.

For generations the building was known to the folks around Grapeland as Darsey’s Grocery Store. The building has new life now as the Café and Creamery on Main.

Chapman and her husband purchased the old building last year and worked for six months getting it cleaned up and ready for its opening on Feb. 7.

“We have been going strong since then,” Chapman assured.

Stepping into the building is like stepping back in time as people are treated to old brick walls, a magnificent example of a pressed tin ceiling and many artifacts from Grapeland’s past on display.

The thing that brings people to the café most of all is the food.

A full buffet awaits guests, along with a salad bar and potato bar, along with different soups and there is always plenty of chicken fried steak available, Chapman said.

“It’s good, homestyle food,” Chapman said.

On Friday nights they feature a seafood buffet and on Saturdays a ribeye, “surf and turf” meal, Chapman said. The chef, Albert Mancilla, also makes some excellent fajitas, according to Chapman and they are available at times.

For the after church crowd on Sundays, that’s when her chef earns his claim to fame, Chapman said, as he puts out a full dessert buffet, featuring all handmade desserts.

“Albert just tells me what he needs and then I let him go,” Chapman said. “I couldn’t have done this without him.”

Chapman and her husband, Lee, came to the Houston County Lake area from Houston.

“We came here because we bought a boat and we wanted to go to a lake and get out of Houston,” Chapman explained. “My husband said we needed a little something to do, so we bought a restaurant.”

That little something has turned into a lot of work, but she has enjoyed it and relishes the chance to be a part of the community.

“A lot of the people that come in say they are just happy to have someplace to go,” Chapman said. “It’s been a lot of fun being in this old building.”

In the back, in Chapman’s office, Darsey’s old vault is still there, and many other antiques adorn the space around the Café and Creamery. The brick walls also add a sense of history, but they came about quite by accident.

“While we were cleaning up and getting ready to open, my daughter was in one of the back rooms bouncing a basketball off the walls and the plaster started falling off,” Chapman said. “We were amazed at how it looked, because there’s people in Houston who would pay a lot of money to get their walls to look like this.”

That same sense of nostalgia is seen in the buffet line as an old wagon contains the drink cooler and an old counter holds the desserts.

Adding to the atmosphere, Chapman said she likes to invite local bands to play on Friday and Saturday nights, and when they can’t make it, she shows old movies in the restaurant. Just stopping by is like stopping time.

The Café and Creamery is open Tuesday through Sunday, with lunch buffets beginning at 11 a.m. For more on the café, or to schedule a band, give them a call at 936-687-2022.

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Wayne Stewart may be reached via e-mail at wstewart@palestineherald.com

        

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