Our Story

Cafe 501 in Edmond still feels oven-fresh two decades after opening

By Dave Cathey

EDMOND — Peter Holloway's restaurant career began with the Val-Gene Restaurant group in the 1970s and continued through the early 1990s. But the foundation of his current Holloway Restaurant Group emerged from his wife and partner Sheree's passion for baking 20 years ago.

While Peter Holloway was off in Terre Haute, Ind., opening a Pepperoni Grill concept in August 1995, Sheree was opening the doors to Cafe 501, 501 S Boulevard, in the old Ollie's Donuts space. The idea was to offer fresh-baked bread, pastries and light fare to satisfy her newfound love of baking.

What was supposed to be a humble little bakery was an instant success and quickly built up a consistent, passionate following. Cafe 501 helped build the Holloway Restaurant Group, which now includes two 501 stores, Boulevard Steakhouse, The Martini Bar, Ice House and Park House in the Myriad Gardens.

The bakery is still Sheree Holloway's favorite playground, and general manager and executive chef Gerry Reardon makes sure the Coyote Chicken and Santa Fe Sandwiches arrive just as they did 20 years ago. Meanwhile, Reardon puts out an ambitious dinner menu to go with a wine list that didn't exist when the place opened as a lunch and breakfast emporium.

"A guy named Chad Scothorn, a guy who'd been with us at Val-Gene, the Eagle's Nest, he was talking about artisan bread, and that's when Sheree got the bug," Peter Holloway said.

Pretty soon she was off to France to learn from the masters. She came home with an idea for the vacant corner space just blocks from their home at the time.

"At first it was just the front part of the building, and the kitchen was extremely small," Peter Holloway said.

Several dining expansions followed, then the bakery was remodeled for larger commercial production in 2000.