For the last year and a half, Catherine Dowdy and her husband have owned Del’s Restaurant on the west side of Daviess County. Because it had been known as Del’s for 60 years to the locals that frequented it, they decided to leave the name.
But since then, Dowdy has found her footing with the business and the loyal customers who eat there — many daily — and Dowdy said everyone was ready for a name change to reflect the restaurant’s new owner.
When the time came to streamline the restaurant to meet its growing needs, Dowdy made some interior renovations, starting with the flooring, and she thought the time was right to debut Catherine’s Cafe.
So, about a month ago, when the restaurant closed for about a week, Dowdy legally changed the name and when it reopened, a black and white sign hung outside with Catherine’s Cafe on it, but the exterior of the building still reads Del’s Restaurant.
Serving affordable, good food is Dowdy’s goal and also catering to the regulars who were eating there before Dowdy purchased the restaurant.
“My favorite thing about this place is that when I recognize [the vehicle] pulling up, I have their drink on the table for them when they walk in the door,” Dowdy said.
The restaurant seats 48 and most days, each table is occupied during the breakfast hours and then, after the break, the tables fill again during the lunch hour. Catherine’s offers a homemade plate lunch beginning at 11 a.m. daily and Dowdy said that by noon, it is sold out.
The breakfast menu offers omelettes, eggs, meat options and bread options while the lunch menu often has typical diner fare, including burgers, bologna and cheese sandwiches and fries.
Catherine’s also offers different, daily homemade desserts, including banana pudding and pecan pie.
“People love our desserts,” Dowdy said. “When it’s gone, it’s gone, and we don’t ever have any left.”
Customers often share stories with Dowdy about the history of Del’s and also living in Stanley. One of her favorites is how, during a flood, people traveled by John boat to eat at Del’s because it doesn’t flood, she said.
Many feel that way still and will message her the night before — or the morning of inclement weather — to see if she will be open.
“We have cars in the parking lot most mornings [before she arrives to start cooking] — and that is at 5:30 a.m.,” Dowdy said.
The local farmers, who are also regulars, take care of her in times of need. When the water main broke, Dowdy said that they brought in cases of water.
Kimberly-Clark is located just down the road, and happens to be where Dowdy’s husband works. The cafe has found success with to-go orders, many of which are sold to Kimberly-Clark employees who take it back to eat at work.
With the early success Dowdy found in the restaurant, it wasn’t long until people began asking if she could cater meals and events, something she has done a few times and is now considering for her future.
“My generation and the one below me still wants home-cooked food, not just ‘heat and eat,” Dowdy said.
She has already catered St. Benedict’s annual banquet where she served 300 people and has booked three upcoming weddings.
“As a mom-and-pop restaurant, we can do anything,” Dowdy said of the restaurant’s catering menu.
Some of her favorites, which she has also served as specials at the cafe, are her Hawaiian chicken tenderloins and her pulled pork.
Dowdy has always liked cooking and beginning at age 15, worked at Norman McDonald’s in Philpot. The Dowdy’s also have six children, so she said she really is cooking nonstop.
With a desire to use as many local products as possible, Dowdy is gradually working toward creating a garden with vegetables and herbs to be served. She is using locally-grown Seymour Farms lettuce, and said that it is just making the food better, and hopes to incorporate locally-sourced honey and meats, if possible.
Catherine’s has a staff of six and is open from 6 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every day except Sunday. Each Friday, the cafe is open for dinner beginning at 4 p.m. and serves it’s Friday night catfish dinner. Dowdy said the crowds on Friday nights and Saturday mornings are different than on a weekday.
“It’s just a wonderful family environment,” she said. “The Lord has brought us a lot of business, and we provide food you can’t get anywhere else.”
Catherine’s Cafe is located at 7478 US Highway 60 W in Stanley.
