(Almost) ready for business

GAS — Clara Ellis and Clifford Peterson figured they’d try a “slow” opening for their restaurant.
The pace was anything but.
“For the first two hours we were open, we only had two empty chairs,” Ellis said. “I was so nervous and so scared, but we came through. We’re all still alive and not bruised up. It made the first day a good one.”
Ellis and Peterson are the co-owners of Ruth and Earl’s Down Home Cookin,’ which occupies the former Bonnie’s Corner Cafe building in downtown Gas.
Ruth and Earl’s opened its doors unannounced Tuesday and today, primarily for the benefit of the wait staff, Peterson explained. They’ll close up shop again Thursday in order to restock food and get everything in order for Monday’s official opening day.
Of their three other employees — their daughter and two nieces — two have limited experience in food service, and the third has none, Ellis noted.
“They were nervous,” Peterson said Tuesday afternoon. “I was nervous. But they did a good job.”
Starting Monday, the restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
The restaurant’s name comes from Ellis’ and Petersons’ middle names.
After all, they’re more than just business partners.
“We’ve been married for years,” Peterson joked. “We just ain’t married yet.”
The couple has planned for several years to getting married. But first, their focus was getting their business venture off the ground.
Since last November, when they acquired the building, Ellis and Peterson have slowly remodeled and redecorated the family-style restaurant.
Their original plans were to open in July. Those fell through because of additional hiccups in the remodel.
“First, it was the electricity,” Ellis said. “Then we had a freezer go bad, and we had to replace a refrigerator.”
Rather than borrow money from the bank, the couple opted for a slower approach.
“When we got the money to fix those things, we fixed them,” Ellis said.
Peterson is a carpenter. Ellis had formerly worked for the Iola Housing Authority until resigning her post over the spring to focus all of her energies on the restaurant.
Ellis and Peterson will have a full menu of such things as hamburgers and chicken fried steak, as well as daily specials and a salad bar.