Owners respond to slow business during winter and pandemic

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Business has been slow the past few months at Café 256, but owners Tim and Barbara Melendy are in it for the long haul.

They are in the process of setting up an online ordering system that will provide pickup and delivery.

The café was open Mondays and Tuesdays when they opened in October, but has reduced its hours to just three days a week, Friday through Sunday.

“It’s wintertime, and people don’t like to come out in the cold,” Tim said. “Hopefully, we will be open more days again in March.”

They plan to expand their hours as the weather warms.

The café has begun serving breakfast all day, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. More meal choices have been added to the menu.

Homemade cinnamon rolls, pies, and cookies are on the menu. The café is offering a shredded beef burrito and a soup of the day. Chili also is available.

The Melendys have three employees and are looking to hire another one. They are planning to remodel the second floor of their building at 330 E. Main St. for living quarters.

They moved to Marion from Arizona, where Tim owned a large body shop. They wanted to live closer to their three sons, who live in Wichita, and found the former FamLee Bakery building online.

“We looked around the area, and Marion Lake was a big draw,” Tim said. “I like to fish.”