With two decades as a professional caterer under her belt, Selma Owens was ready to branch out. At the end of March, Owens — owner of Selma’s Catering & Events — opened Liberty Road Cafe. The lunch spot, located at 720 Henry Clay Blvd., aims to bring fresh weekday dining options to the Chevy Chase neighborhood.
“We make everything from scratch,” Owens said. “We’ll have two homemade soups every day, and we make our own sauces, condiments and salad dressings. We are a Kentucky Proud company, and we work with the farmers market whenever we can.”
Owens is hoping her homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, and wraps — available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — will help Liberty Road succeed in the spot previously held by Sarah’s BBQ and, before that, The Lunch Box.
Owens said catering will remain the primary focus of her business. Selma’s Catering & Events previously was housed in a commercial kitchen space in the Coldstream Research Campus. But when that space became unavailable, Owens began researching other options and found the Henry Clay Boulevard location. The building has been renovated, with ordering and seating areas located in the front, and the catering operation in the rear.
“We have three times the space we used to have, and that has allowed us to take on additional catering jobs,” she said. “We opened the cafe because we’re on this corner and we thought it would be a fun thing to do.”
Owens said customer favorites include the smoked brisket, served on a poppy seed onion roll with white cheddar and barbecue sauce; The Liberty, country ham on focaccia with pesto mayo, fresh mozzarella, lettuce and tomato; and The Veggie Wrap, with hummus, cucumber, tomato, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers and feta.
Owens’ former family dining table now serves as a centerpiece for the cafe.
“I am from a large family — four brothers and one sister. We are all married with children, and some of us have grandchildren,” Owens said. “For over 40 years, that table was the center of our holiday meals and dinner parties. Wedding announcements, birth announcements, and many other happy occasions have taken place around it.”
She said she now hopes her customers will share good times with family and friends around the same table, which can also be reserved for celebratory lunches.
Owens said one key to running a successful food service is staying up-to-date.
“You need a combination of young people with fresh ideas and seasoned professionals who can get the job done,” she said.
Another, she said, is taking customer feedback seriously.
“We can have something on the menu that we think is the best thing in the world, but if no one orders it, we know we have to make some changes.”
Owens acknowledged that some patrons have expressed some skepticism, given the short-lived ventures that have come before at the location. She remains undaunted.
“We’ve been successful for 20 years. It’s not like we’re just starting,” she said.
Owen said her catering business would help keep her anchored.
“We have grown by leaps and bounds every year, and that’s why we needed the additional space,” she said.
“We don’t plan to be open for dinner. I think that previous restaurants in this space depended on a dinner crowd. We are caterers who just happen to run a lunch café. As we go along, we’ll probably make some changes. But we want to start small and grow from there,” added Owens.
More information on Liberty Road Cafe can be found at its Facebook page: Facebook.com/ LibertyRoadCafe, by calling 859-971-2763 or by emailing selma@selmascatering.com.