Dish

Depending on how you count them, there are now three Barnaby Cafes, or at least two and a half. The newest Barnaby’s location [1701 South Shepherd, (713)520-5131] opened September 27 in the space abruptly vacated by Cafe Take Away this summer (which is next door to the now-razed red brick house that housed the Hobbit Hole for 25 years, but that’s another story).

Maybe this attractive site wasn’t right for Cafe Take Away’s religiously low-fat carryout cuisine, but since its almost overnight reincarnation as Barnaby’s, the tables have been packed every day with diners eager for mom-style meat loaf, gravy and mashed potatoes or thick, comforting chicken salad sandwiches. “We honestly didn’t expect so much response so quickly,” says Barnaby’s partner Jeff Gale, seeming a bit dazed. “We hadn’t advertised or promoted the opening or anything. I mean, we’re still staffing up.”

In the beginning, there was Barnaby’s on Fairview [604 Fairview, (713)522-0106]. Gale and partners Ed Cervantes and Bob Luna opened the original cafe back in December 1992, a whimsically painted shrine to the memory of a shaggy English sheepdog that romped through Gales’s childhood. The namesake Barnaby is now romping around in doggy heaven, but in his honor, lacquered doggy biscuits and big black paw prints decorate the cheerful diner.

Located on a cramped stretch of Fairview, however, the location was chronically short of parking. So when the women’s dress shop next door fell vacant, the partners expanded, with little more in mind than a vague notion of nailing down a few more precious parking slots. The extra space ultimately evolved into Baby Barnaby [602 Fairview, (713)522-4229]. “But nothing we’ve tried there ever really worked out,” admits Gale, “because we were always competing with ourselves.” Now on a shorter leash, Baby Barnaby dishes up breakfast only, seven mornings a week.

The new Barnaby’s location is almost as accidental. “We weren’t thinking about expanding, but when the opportunity came up, we just kind of jumped at it,” says Gale. “After all, we live only a few blocks away, so it seemed perfect.” The new space isn’t much bigger than the original. “But it feels bigger because of the higher ceilings, and we have a patio, too,” says Gale enthusiastically.

The owners haven’t messed with the formula that has made Barnaby’s such a cuddly lapdog. So far, the menu is identical, right down to the fragrant, fresh-squeezed lemonade. Even the old sheepdog is there in spirit. “Barnaby’s painted on the ceiling on Fairview,” explains Gale. “And he’s right here, too, in the mural over the windows.”

Gale and his partners are moving quickly to capitalize on the new Barnaby’s success. Starting this week, you can begin to sniff for beer and wine, as well as breakfast plates $agrave; la Baby Barnaby’s, at the Shepherd location. Plus, in the new digs, there’s plenty of room to expand into pizzas. “We tried pizzas before, but we just didn’t have the oven space at the Fairview location to do them on a regular basis,” Gale explains.

So, will there be a fourth Barnaby’s one of these days? “Oh, no, no, no,” says Gale, laughing. “Definitely not. Three is enough.”