'A restaurant is just fun': Bedford man opens Peddler's Loft Café in downtown Martinsville
MARTINSVILLE — Shane Haley is stressed. His new restaurant, The Peddler's Loft Café, a quaint, rustic eatery at 166 E. Morgan St., is set to open in an hour, and he hasn't started slicing any ham, turkey or roast beef.
"I feel like I'm forgetting something I need to do, besides the slicing part," says Haley, who is anxiously preparing food for the incoming lunch rush.
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Luckily for Haley, he thrives in the fast-paced restaurant industry, where he has worked since he was 15 years old.
"A restaurant is just fun," he says. "It can be a pain in the butt sometimes, but it's pretty fun."
Haley, of Bedford, most recently worked at Penn Station, a franchise known for its "East Coast Subs," in Greenwood.
If not for the I-69 project, Haley may never have opened a café in Martinsville.
Before he decided to start his own business, Haley was commuting from Bedford to Greenwood almost every day. When highway construction forced motorists to take a detour through Martinsville, he spotted an empty storefront marked for rent on East Morgan Street.
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While the detour created a headache for motorists, local businesses on the square benefitted from the increase in downtown traffic.
"Every time I came through here, people were everywhere, walking and eating and stuff like that," he said.
The experience inspired him to open his own place, fulfilling his dream of owning a restaurant and not having to work for anybody else.
While Haley has worked in restaurants since he was a teenager, his journey to becoming a restaurateur was never a certainty. At the behest of his parents, he attended Indiana University, where he earned an elementary education degree, but after a year of teaching, he quickly realized it wasn't for him.
"I kind of did it just to appease my parents," he says.
His mom worked in the banking industry, his sister was an emergency medical technician and his dad, brother and grandfather were all police officers. He grew jealous of his family members who "could run lights and sirens down 16th Street," which inspired him to work as a paramedic in Lawrence County for several years before making his way back to the food industry.
When he's not in the kitchen, Haley enjoys spending time with his 10-year-old Jack Russell Terrier, Milo, and getting on the golf course. Though he doesn't have much time for the latter these days.
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The Peddler's Loft Café, 166 E. Morgan St., Martinsville, is open from Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., and Thursday through Saturday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Menu items include sandwiches, soups, salads, wraps, and freshly squeezed lemonade, along with a limited supply of desserts courtesy of The Cannoli Connection.
Contact reporter Peter Blanchard at 765-346-2942 or pblanchard@reporter-times.com. Follow him on Twitter @peterlblanchard.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Peddler's Loft Cafe is new Martinsville restaurant, lunch spot
