08/03/2026
Finley’s Fountain 6/14/2016 - 8/16/2026
Friends, the time has come to close Finley’s Fountain. Ten years ago when we decided to open a restaurant along side our Finley’s gift store, we never imagined the wonderful relationships this endeavor would bring.
In the beginning we discussed three tenants that would shape our business—Good food, Comfort, and Fellowship.
Good food was the most difficult to achieve day in and day out. We wanted freshly cooked food, the kind of food you would fondly remember as a child, sitting at the table with your parents and grandparents. Wait times were sometimes problematic, and that was a by-product of our Comfort tenant. We didn’t want people to have to wait for a table, so we stacked the restaurant with tables, lots of tables . If you remember Heard-Jones, the little kitchen was sized for the diner area only, we added five times that area. Adding the buffet helped, and for the most part, the kitchen could keep up, except for those times when large tables or a lot of people were seated, then it was problematic. We had some customers who needed to get in and out, for ball games, or other reasons, and for those times we failed, we apologize. For most of our customers, time didn’t matter, time was nonexistent. This was the magic at Finley’s Fountain—families, friends and individuals could come in and stay for as long as they desired. This was the Fellowship tenant.
Along the way we have come to know so many people on a level we would never have achieved outside work, church or other community activities. We watched young kids grow up along side their parents, nine and ten year olds, now adults making a living on their own.
We aren’t sure, without counting, but we have had a lot of employees. We wanted young ones to work, so we could help shape their work ethic and develop responsibility. Kathi and I enjoyed this part of owning a business. Teaching kids how to cook and other roles at work. The greatest percentage were fantastic workers, accepting direction and criticism with the right attitude. We hope we succeeded with a positive impact on their lives.
Along side our young employees were our older adults, with that I mean everyone over the age of eighteen. We could not have made ten years in this business without them. So many fond memories of special people. During the Covid timeframe, we had several dedicated employees who stuck with us during those difficult times. There were several evenings I would tell Kathi we needed to close the business, we couldn’t continue at that rate of loss, but Kathi wouldn’t stand down, she was adamant that staying open for our employees and our customers was more important than money. She was right.
Kathi kept Finley’s Fountain open, she worked hard and tirelessly. She never told a customer no, and she didn’t run out of food. Ever. Countless times a customer would call asking if she had a particular pie or cookies, and she would ask if she could have about forty minutes and she would have it ready.
But times had changed and now we
have grand children. Food prices continued to creep up, good employees are more difficult than ever to hire and I couldn’t help her out as much. As I suggested we close, she kept asking, “What about our employees? What about my parents, they come in everyday. What about our customers?”
Yes, this was going to be hard. I was quiet about it, when she was ready, she would let me know. This week Kathi let me know it was time.
From the bottom of our hearts, we will greatly miss you all at The Fountain. We look forward to seeing you at the grocery store, other restaurants, church and other events. Most everyone knows how to contact us, if there is anything we can do to help, or just visit, give us a shout.
As for caters we have on the books, Kathi will take care of you, so no worries.
As Winnie the Pooh once said, “How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
Cheers,
James and Kathi Bagley
