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FeedAround the Clock
PHOTO BY JODI MILLER
If you frequent Dempsey’s Restaurant, 346 S. High St., chances are you’ll see owner Mark Dempsey on many of your visits. Dempsey, who opened the breakfast, lunch and dinner spot this spring, says it’s important that he’s there as often as possible.
“That’s my name on the restaurant,” he says. “It’s my reputation.”
There are just a few places Downtown open for all three meals, and even fewer open as early and as late as Dempsey’s (7 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily).
“We want to be one shift shy of a Waffle House,” he says. While the restaurant caters to the work crowd during the day, at night the menu turns a bit upscale, with seafood and steak offerings to attract Downtown residents and the theater crowd.
Dempsey doesn’t claim to know much about cooking, which is why he stays out of the kitchen … most of the time. He recalls one busy weekend brunch when he jumped in to help. He managed to make toast just fine but when he attempted eggs, he remembers, laughing, the kitchen staff kicked him out.
However, the chef still allows Dempsey to tackle one kitchen task: washing dishes. “I love it. I wish I could wash dishes all of the time,” he says.
Although Dempsey admits his quest for perfection at the restaurant might be overbearing for his staff, he says, “no one washes a pan like an owner.”
