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SALINA — Mom's Cafe in Salina is one of those places people just know.
Celebrities have eaten here. An autographed Ashley Judd picture sits behind a glass case. National publications have been here, too. Just look at the old National Geographic magazine featuring Mom's Café.
However, the feel of the place really makes this small restaurant popular. It's kind of cooking is tough to find these days.
"I love their homemade cooking. It's the best," said Barbara Jensen, a customer who says she's been coming here all 40 years of her life.
It's safe to say empty stomachs have never left disappointed. For all the history people love here, though, it's hard to ignore the café's most recent history. Plywood covers a hole in the front wall where glass was broken.
"It was such a loud bang … like an explosion," said Kaleb Paxman, a cook who was preparing food in the back kitchen last Sunday.
A car driving down the main highway through Salina jumped the curb, hit a woman in the street, and crashed into Mom's Café — landing upside down.
"Just a minute before, I was at the register doing someone's bill," said Kandace Paxman, one of Mom's longtime workers.
Surveillance video of the crash shows the front window being shattered with such force, shards of glass ended up more than 20 feet away at the salad bar. Fortunately, no one was sitting at the table right in front of the window. No one knows exactly why the driver lost control, but almost right away, people came to help.
The woman who was hit was taken to the hospital and is back home without any major injuries. Mom's Café was only closed for a day, thanks to all the help.
Lots of people came to put up plywood and just help us out. It was amazing.
–Kandace Paxman, employee
Maybe folks just wanted it to reopen quickly because the Tuesday special is always delicious. Or maybe it was because that's just what people here do.
"Lots of people came to put up plywood and just help us out. It was amazing," said Paxman.
Now, after countless stories being told and retold, old-timers who come here and newcomers have more history to talk about. Contributing: John Wilson
