By Scooter Anderson Scooter Anderson Communications
Maybe you’re in Gillam for the Sunflower Festival. Maybe you’re in Gillam for a night of racing at the speedway. Or maybe you’re in from Dallas, looking for a little escape. Whatever brings you to Gillam, your visit isn’t complete without a meal from Main Street Restaurant. Gilliam is one of many charming small towns along the Boom or Bust Byway, a National Scenic Byway which spans four parishes and 136-miles.
“I had a couple a month or two ago, they specifically drove here from Dallas, not to come to Shreveport, not to do anything else, but to find us,” said Timothy Fowler, chef at Main Street Restaurant. ”They came to eat and go back home. That’s a long trip if we haven’t done our job. That goes for anybody. It’s a good hike to come out here. I want to be represented in a positive way by doing the best things,” Fowler said.
Main Street Restaurant is a labor of love for Fowler, who grew up in Gilliam. “I found I have a passion for the industry,” Timothy said. “They were never going to give me a shopping plaza, a bowling alley, a movie theater or anything like that here. With that in mind, this was always sort of a destination location. If you weren’t in the area, or you weren’t even familiar with the area, then you probably weren’t going to come in. We needed to create more foot traffic.”
He brought the traffic with big-city meals, including top-quality steaks, in a comfortable, family-friendly small-town atmosphere. In his eight years at Main Street Restaurant, he has learned how to blend those two things.
“I want everybody to have a good experience. If I try to do something too bougie, though, they aren’t going to sell it. If they can’t pronounce it, they aren’t going to order it.” The Fowlers added a new twist with Main Street Too, a full-service bar where guests can unwind, shoot some pool and listen to some live music, all while not disturbing the family-friendly atmosphere next door.
“We can’t really allow for all that (in the restaurant) during business hours,” Timothy said. “We want everybody to have a good time, but we can’t have them hollering at the football game necessarily, because you’ve got kids around, you know? It’s something we always wanted to do because there’s nothing out here like it.”
Main Street Restaurant and Main Street Too are at 12807 Main St. in Gillam, La. Main Street Restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, and from 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. For more information, call (318) 296-4400 or visit https://www.facebook.com/MainStreetRestaurantGilliam.