ASHLAND — I caught wind of reports someone was up to something really elaborate at the café inside the Pendleton Art Center on Winchester Avenue last week, and it wasn’t long before I was listening in on a debate about the ornate furnishings and decorations visible through the windows. One person said it was too over the top for the space, while the other argued it was absolutely perfect for the center, which is home to working studios and galleries for many area artists.

I got a glimpse for myself during the recent First Friday Artwalk and will report I think the new CCC Trail Café has an outstanding look and feel that will appeal to practically anyone who might visit the city’s downtown district for a taste of the arts.

I stopped in Friday to snag a menu and make arrangements for an interview with owner Jim Ross. I grabbed a menu and after one glance look forward to enjoying lunch this week. Among the selections available are five different soups along with three salads, a daily pasta dish and blue-plate special, sandwiches including a Greek gyro, desserts and drinks.

CCC Trail Café will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday as part of a series featuring artists, musicians and wines. For more information, email jim@rosstica.com or call (606) 923-7645.

Sweet stuff

For the past few years around this time of year I’ve made the short drive down U.S. 23 to the Durbin community to speak with members of the Ross family at Durbin Family Farms, where they create sorghum and other farm-produced goodies that consistently earn blue ribbons.

Margaret Ross left a couple of messages last week saying she and husband, Jim, will have the family farm open at 9 a.m. today to kick off the fall sales season. This year’s harvest and preservation also earned them 20 blue ribbons at the Kentucky State Fair, she said. The farm will offer apple butter and sorghum this year.

The farms are easy to find, about eight miles south of the Marathon refinery off U.S. 23 and marked by signs along the highway at the Durbin/Burnaugh crossroads. For more information, call (606) 739-8097 and leave a message.

Back at Katie’s

Nancy Tilton reports Katie’s Corner Café is open at the corner of 15th Street and Greenup Avenue in Ashland.

The long-standing restaurant on the corner has been closed in recent days while utility crews worked beneath the closed-off street to repair, and Tilton reports there has been some confusion about the situation.

Tilton said the restaurant will open at 7 a.m. and resume operations according to the old schedule, adding she looks forward to welcoming all of her regular customers back. For more information, call (606) 325-5283.

 Gold Star treat

I wasn’t here for it, although I certainly heard a lot about a surprise catering at the newspaper by the folks from Gold Star Chili last week.

As part of its new catering services, the staff from the restaurant in Russell appeared with steaming-hot trays of “coneys and ways,” allowing our staffers to build their own versions of the Cincinnati favorites for lunch.

Most of us in this area are strangers to “Cincinnati-style chili” and we tend to think of it as spaghetti because the Mediterranean-inspired dish is served atop a bed of pasta. I think we just have to accept this is an entirely different dish than the Texas-born version we tend to identify with, and appreciate the entree for what it is.

By all accounts, the catered version of Gold Star Chili was exceptional, and gave many among us their first taste of a Cincinnati-style meal. For more information, visit goldstarchili.com or call the Russell store at (606) 327-0019.

Opening Wednesday

Cindy Romans, who is opening the new Your Family’s History shop in the Camayo Arcade building on Winchester Avenue with a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, reports she is excited about becoming part of the downtown small-business community.

Romans, whose family had four generations of local investment as part of Ashland Electric, said the new shop “is much more than just scrapbooking,” and spent several minutes giving me a quick education about some of the products and services she will offer at the new business. In addition to scrapbooking supplies previously unavailable in the area, the shop will offer professional organization of photos, as well as photo restoration and compilation of old home movies and VHS tapes onto DVDs and secure digital storage of family photos and images, among other services and classes.

You have to talk to Romans for only a few moments to realize she is a bundle of organized energy, which may be the single most important aspect to the services she can provides to local school groups, church organizations, sports teams and nonprofit agencies who can benefit from her enthusiasm.

You Family’s History will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from noon to 8 p.m. Monday. For more information, look the shop up on Facebook or call (606) 326-9153.

Vineyard dinner

Not to be confused with the other winery mentioned in this column, the folks at Rock Springs Vineyard and Winery in Carter County will host a dinner event on Friday, with a wine tasting at 6:30 p.m. and a four-course dinner at 7. The cost is $35 per plate.

Diners are asked to make reservations before noon Thursday by calling (606) 923-9085.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.