Hours of operation
Monday: 5 to 10 p.m. for dinner
Tuesday and Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Lunch and dinner served Tuesday through Saturday
Closed Sunday
Sixty percent of restaurants don’t make it past the first year, but six months into his first dining venture James Bailey, owner of Main Street Social in Monroe, says he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
“Overall, it’s been pretty good,” Bailey, a Monroe native, said of business at the restaurant since it opened downtown Jan. 29. “We’ve been getting a lot of customers through word of mouth and getting good Yelp! reviews. We’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback since we opened, and there are some people who didn’t realize we were open.”
Bailey opened his restaurant several months after the Red Onion, which featured fine dining at the same location, closed suddenly on May 29, 2014. This the first time he has owned a restaurant even though he has managed many restaurants and has helped to turn some failing restaurants into successes.
He said Main Street Social employs seven other people “mostly full-time” and is growing slowly. Bailey said at least 60 percent of his business is repeat customers who come in one or more times to eat.
“This has been very fulfilling,” he said. “This brand is what I wanted.”
“I was at a point in my career when I decided to start working for myself,” Bailey told the Journal-News before the restaurant opened. “An opportunity was put in front of me and I jumped for it. …. I’ve always loved to cook. Whatever I make, I like to step it up a notch.”
Bailey said his aspiration to become a chef started while he was a student and worked for George Burnas, who owns and runs the Brandywine Inn, also in the same building in Monroe. While he knew going into a building that was more than 100 years old would be a disadvantage, Bailey said that it creates an atmosphere that everyone loves.
The building at 214 S. Main St. originally opened in the early 1800s as the Hotel Onion, a hotel and stagecoach stop. Back then, the owners would hang an onion over the doorway to let people know food was being served.
“We’re more of a gastropub,” Bailey said. “We’ve created this niche in Butler County. We have a selection of eight local craft beers by draft and dozens of bottles.”
While he acknowledges a higher price point for his menu, Bailey said he offers a better quality for his products.
“In this area, it’s more quantity than quality,” he said. “But I’m staying true to my feelings about having quality products, and I won’t sacrifice that.”
Bailey, whose family is from Monroe, said he and his restaurant are out in the community working with the Monroe High School Athletic and Band boosters fund-raisers and with the Mount Pleasant Retirement Community. He is a 1996 graduate of Lemon-Monroe High School.
“I’ll be ramping it up this fall,” he said. “This is my community, and I hope people will support local businesses.”
Monroe’s economic development director Kevin Chesar said the city is always looking to attract more amenities to give residents increased eatery options.
“Main Street Social has been a welcomed restaurant addition to the city,” Chesar said. “From all indications, it appears that Main Street Social’s focus on simple but genuine good food offers a wonderful dining experience and we hope they continue to build upon their successes.”
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