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'Lamp Post' blends dreams of coffee bar, bistro and boutique
BENKELMAN, Neb. — At “Lamp Post 613” in downtown Benkelman, Ashley and Joshua Bailey have blended their dreams of a coffee bar, bistro and boutique into one unique shopping experience.
As Joshua finishes the restoration of their historic red brick building, he and Ashley hope now to integrate the Lamp Post into the lives of Southwest Nebraskans.
The Baileys opened the Lamp Post in June, in a building they originally bought for storage and a carpentry shop for Joshua. The idea for a store grew from Ashley’s love of homemade, handcrafted items. Maybe women’s clothing, all sizes … Joshua loves to cook … hmmm, a coffee bar …
Yet, Ashley said, they knew that a boutique or a bistro or a coffee bar alone couldn’t survive independently in a small-town, rural environment. Whatever they did would have to be innovative, and combine the three endeavors.
That’s what the Baileys have done at Lamp Post 613. The front of the store is the boutique, into which Ashley tempts shoppers with women’s fashions in the floor-to-ceiling bay windows. The boutique offers brand name clothing from size small to 3X and at price points for everyone, Ashley says. She also displays jewelry, purses, headbands, candles and handmade signs.
Ashley customizes T-shirts, utilizing local schools’ colors and mascots.
Walk through bistro seating to the coffee bar and kitchen.
The bistro and coffee bar are open every morning for coffee drinks, rolls and pastries, muffins, breakfast burritos and biscuits and gravy.
Lunch consists of meat-and-cheese sandwiches (on white or wheat sub, focaccia, marble rye and gluten-free breads); lettuce, macaroni and potato salads; and soups in the fall and winter. Lunch specials offer tacos, nachos, pastas and chicken dishes.
Everything is made to order. “I want ‘Tom’ to get what ‘Tom’ wants,” Joshua said. “It’s important to us that we give our customers what they want.”
Suppers of sandwiches and salads are available on Wednesday, and Ashley said they’re developing a menu of dinner specials.
See, that’s just the thing. Ashley and Joshua want to offer what their customers want. If it’s specials for supper after Wednesday church activities, they’ll work on that idea.
The Baileys hope to make their shops responsive to the needs of customers of Southwest Nebraska, keeping in mind what their own active family needs. “We’ll evolve and change with customers’ requests if we can,” Ashley said.
They deliver lunch orders, free of charge within five miles. Ashley also works as an occupational therapy assistant, so she can deliver, too, on her way to the Imperial and Wauneta areas.
Call ahead, and they’ll have orders to go ready by the time you pull up out front.
The Baileys are flexible even as far as their hours go. There are no hours posted on the door. Ashley said, “The first customer is through the door just after 6 a.m.; there are teenagers in the shop after home games.”
Ashley said she and Joshua are experimenting with the after-game hours. They like that kids know they can come to the Lamp Post … a safe place … and hang out after games. “They’ve never been rowdy or disrespectful,” Ashley said.
The Baileys have four very active children of their own; their oldest daughter helps out at the store. Ashley said, “We are still experimenting with what works best for our family, as well as for our customers.”
Lamp Post 613 is a family business. Ashley explained, “We want to show our kids that if you have a dream, you go for it … you work for it.”
The Lamp Post’s winter hours will be: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; and Wednesday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., offering lunch and dinner specials.
Sunday hours, 8 a.m.-2 p.m., were added at the request of customers. Ashley said they’ll prepare both breakfast and lunch as well as baked items.
Any other suggestions? You know the Baileys’ philosophy — They’ll make adjustments if it will help their customers.