By MARK MCGEE
The long awaited opening of Glass Hollow Table & Tavern is almost here.
Owners Chavigny Beasley and Jeb House have scheduled a ribbon cutting and reception for Friday, August 30 at 3:30 p.m. at the old Knox-Pitts Hardware Store location on the square.
Jeb, Chavigny’s son, has already made a reputation for his cooking through his M-A-C Daddy’s food truck and his catering of events in Bedford County.
“There are a lot of people who have high standards for us based on what we have done in the past,” Jeb said. “And we have high standards for ourselves as well. We want to make sure we get to that point.”
It is a time of celebration for the long-term project.
“I believe we purchased this property at the end of 2021,” Jeb said. “We had a little bit of a hiccup getting a building permit. It took about eight months to get that. Now we are in 2024 so it is setting about three years.
“It was lot of building. There were a lot of people that said, `wow, is it ever going to open’.”
Jeb, who has been living at the building with is wife, Ashley, has renovated 35,000 square feet of the 42,000 square foot building. The plan has been to restore it to a 19th century feel.
“We wanted to get the historical aspects correct,”Jeb said. “It takes time. We were not going to skimp on anything.”
“It is important to me to make sure everything is correct. That is one of the reasons we pushed up the opening even though the building is ready now. We only get a chance to make a first impression once.”
Being prepared for the unexpected, especially in a new venture is one of the biggest challenges
“To be able to pivot and change with the unexpected when you have 10 or 15 things and everything seems to go wrong in day is a big challenge,” Jeb said. “You have to figure out how to make it happen.”
Plans are to open up the week after Labor Day with seating for 170 to start off.. There will be some soft openings and the outcome of those will help determine the exact opening date.
Jeb will be the owner/general manager, but expect him to spend time in the kitchen.
“I used to watch the Food Network when I was a kid,” Jeb said. “That is just something I enjoyed as a kid.
“I did cook a lot at the house, more so than other kids. It is just something I enjoyed to be in the kitchen with my grandmothers on my mother’s and father’s side. It meant a lot.”
Many of the recipes will be Jeb’s but he stresses it will be a team effort. If anyone on staff thinks something could be changed he will listen, but he stresses the customer is the final judge.
“I will be involved with the kitchen and along with my wife will be involved with the front of the house and the Air B and B we will have upstairs,” Jeb said. “We are in a good spot.”
Jeb spent almost two months searching for a chef and top quality servers.
“We are drawing outside of Shelbyville,” Jeb said. “
“We are going to be considered as a casual fine-dining restaurant,” Jeb said. “We don’t want people to feel they are not welcome or that we are too high end. We want folks to be comfortable here, but we do have a certain set of standards we want to be able to keep. We want to meet and exceed the service standards of the best restaurants within an hour of here.
“The ultimate for me is that customers can come in and get a good value. We are going to be a good value for folks based on what they pay and what they get. We want them to be happy. I am excited and a little nervous, but that is a good thing.”
