LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — If I had allowed her to, Peggy Burgio would’ve talked for hours about the new Paddock Café inside the Richmond Place Senior Living Center.
“I gotta tell you,” she said on Friday inside the new café. “I walked in here and said, ‘Oh, my gosh, how incredible is this?’”
Mrs. Burgio talked about the entire facility, but the café is a recent and much-welcomed addition to the center. At most assisted living facilities, residents' only meal options are limited to the dining room at particular times. That can create some issues.
“If they have a doctor's appointment or if they have family here, this gives them a sense of going out but staying in,” said executive chef Jake Henderson.
The café is another option with more flexible hours and menu options. Like the dining room service, the café is included in the residents’ monthly housing payment.
“Seems like every time I pass it, the door opens. It’s really nice, and you can come in and order what you want off the menu,” Burgio said.
They’ll also deliver it to your room if you don’t feel like coming down. When you do walk inside, there’s also a social element to this.
“The TVs are here, so we’ll usually have a game on, something like that,” Henderson said before adding that they’ll use the café for theme parties and the courtyard just off the café for barbeques.
There is also a full-service dessert bar, fresh coffee, and a chef who was given carte blanche to build this thing from scratch.
“They gave me the freedom to do what I want with the menu,” he said.
Henderson takes full advantage of that by working the room to find out what everyone likes or wants.
Peggy has only lived here since September, thanks to her daughter and daughter-in-law for helping her settle here after her husband passed away.
“It was a wise decision,” she said.
The same could be said of adding The Paddock Café to this facility just a few months ago.
