BLAIR, NEBRASKA (2025 August 17, Sunday)
Don Harrold, Writer / Editor
editor@blairtoday.com – Facebook
It’s been a year since Aaron Leisure and his wife Cellest took over what used to be Billy’s Blair Maple, and if you haven’t been back since those first few weeks, you’re missing out.
I sat down with Aaron on Friday afternoon to see how things have gone since we first talked to him last August when he was getting ready to open Blair Classic Cafe. Back then, he had big plans and a lot of nervousness about taking over a place that had been serving Blair for 27 years. Now? He’s got the battle scars and experience of someone who’s made it through that brutal first year that kills most new restaurants.
“We have lot of ups and downs,” Aaron told me straight up. No sugar-coating. “Learning how to manage a little bit better, of the upfront portion of it, learning how to serve. Because I’ve never, I’ve helped, but I’ve never actually dove in and done it right.”
Anyone who’s been in the restaurant business knows that first year is make-or-break time. Aaron knew how to cook – that wasn’t the problem. It was everything else.
The egg situation and other headaches
Let’s talk about what went wrong first, because Aaron’s honest about it. Remember when egg prices went crazy? That hit Blair Classic Cafe hard. “You know, that egg deal. You know, with the price of eggs, that kind of upset some people,” Aaron said. “But I figured doing a surcharge would have been better than just upping prices right on the menu.”
The problem was those printed menus. Can’t exactly pencil in new prices every week when your food costs are bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.
Then there were staffing issues. “We’ve changed a couple people. We just hired a new server. We have Shannon and Cody, and then Isabelle just started two and a half weeks ago,” Aaron explained.
“We got a new cook about a month ago. We had one, one that decided to go to do something else, and he’s doing well,” Aaron said about the staffing changes.
The new cook, Robert, makes a difference. I had breakfast there the other day and it was the best meal I’ve had at that place, period. Everything was perfect, and there was soft butter on top of the pancakes – something that hadn’t been happening before. When I told Aaron about it, he said, “A lot of people say he’s doing very well for only being here for a month.”
What Aaron learned the hard way
“As a new business owner, I had a lot of learning curve that I was going through. Also, there were things that, because it happened so quickly, that I didn’t get to change or adjust or fix right away,” Aaron admitted.
The thing is, he listened. “We did take a lot of constructive criticism of people that, you know, hey, this or that isn’t right, or this could be better. And we’ve, we’ve changed a few things.”
Take that butter issue I mentioned. Aaron’s actually switching to butter packets because “I can’t seem to get a consistent portion size to come out because of certain things.” Some people won’t like that change, but he said if you ask for the soft butter, “absolutely” they’ll still do it for you.
“Constructive criticism has always been a thing for me,” Aaron said. “Good, bad, indifferent, you know, let me know, because there’s if I don’t know about it, I can’t fix it.”
The regulars are still there
Remember the drama about the wooden tables when Aaron first took over? Well, the regulars still have their spot. “We got table 12 and table 11 there that they all sit at,” Aaron confirmed.
As for that second table everyone was worried about? “Well, a guy said that he wanted it and I was gonna donate it to him, but he gave me a couple bucks for it. Wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Aaron laughed. “And I’m like, Well, if you’re not gonna take no for an answer, I’m just gonna throw it away. So if you want it, then you can have it. And he’s like, Well, I gotta give you something for it.”
The customer base stuck around too. “Yeah, we kept quite a few people. We’ve gained quite a few new customers, some people that didn’t come in from prior came back in to try us out,” Aaron said.
Menu changes and what’s new
The menu isn’t exactly the same as when they opened. “Actually, it’s not. We just updated the menu,” Aaron corrected me when I asked. “We added a grilled chicken salad. And then we added a grilled chicken melt. And a lot of it was nooks and crannies of missing descriptions, making sure descriptions are right.”
They also brought on Salisbury steak, which people had been asking for.
Right now they’ve got two specials running. There’s the “Floridian french toast, which is strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, blueberries on top of four pieces of French toast, a little bit of whipped cream on top of that.” Aaron said “you don’t need syrup with it” because it’s basically a sugar rush on a plate.
The other special is “a grilled chicken salad, but it’s fruit and chicken salad” with “strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges and a sliced chicken breast” and raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
Aaron’s philosophy on menu changes is practical: “If it’s on our menu and you want to deviate, you know, within reason, I’ve got no problem.” But he’s not going crazy adding stuff. “It’s not going to be overly complicated. To add a new menu item, something else would have to come off first.”
DoorDash and downtown challenges
Remember when Aaron added DoorDash delivery back in January? That was a big deal – first local sit-down restaurant to do it. But Aaron says “we don’t do much in DoorDash anymore. It’s more during the winter, during the winter months.” Usage dropped to about 2% of their business.
The biggest complaint Aaron hears about downtown Blair? Parking. “That’s probably be the the one thing I would say that I hear people complain the most about would be parking. But I don’t know how they would address that,” he said.
As for that other restaurant that opened across the street around the same time, Aaron calls it “healthy competition. You know, they serve some of the same items we do, just maybe in a different fashion. So it’s a variety. And people like variety.”
Still cash only (for now)
Blair Classic Cafe is still cash-only, though Aaron thinks about changing that regularly. “I do quite often think about it, about, Am I losing customer business because of it? But also, I think in the other way of, if if we’re doing what we need to be doing, that won’t be a factor.”
He does take Venmo, though he doesn’t advertise it much. The credit card fees are still the main issue – those percentage points add up fast in the restaurant business.
What’s coming next
Aaron’s got plans, but he’s being smart about them. “At some point, I’m going to get an ice cream machine in here and try to do shakes and stuff like that,” he said.
For the holidays, he’s planning something interesting: Thanksgiving and Christmas pie pre-orders. “I am going to dabble in it this year – doing Thanksgiving and Christmas pie reservations for certain pies. I’ve already talked to my vendor about quantity and how much they can hold.”
He’s thinking three types: “Do a French silk, a pumpkin and then a pumpkin cream.”
And before anyone asks – no, Blair Classic Cafe is not getting into the pizza business. “If I see a sign up that says Blair, classic Cafe pizza, I will know you were smoking something. I will promise you you’ll never see that,” Aaron laughed. With Casey’s, Pizza Hut, Cubbies, Lighthouse, Butchers, and Mary’s all doing pizza, “there’s no point in doing that when you have 14 other places to choose from.”
The pie situation
Speaking of desserts, I asked Aaron about pie because this is supposed to be a classic cafe and classic cafes have pie. Right now they’ve got French silk pie as a special, but Aaron’s learned the hard way about desserts.
“Everybody will go, I want it. I want it, I want it. And we’ll do it. And I think it lasted about a month and a half. We sold probably four or five pies.” Total pies, not slices. “And then it just went nothing. We couldn’t sell it to we couldn’t hardly give it away.”
It’s one of those restaurant mysteries – customers say they want something, then don’t buy it when you have it.
Small improvements adding up
Aaron’s making lots of small changes that add up. “I’m trying to update, you know, even as little down to silverware,” he said. The plates are getting upgraded too – “I’m looking at going to a different plate. So as you know, we got some chip plates. We’ve replaced a lot of them, but I’m going to like a melamine plate and see if that’ll work out for me” because they don’t chip and are lighter for the staff.
He’s also working on the building itself. The HVAC system is loud, and while he can’t do much about that right now, it’s on his list.
What Aaron wants Blair to know
For people who were regulars at Billy’s but haven’t tried Blair Classic Cafe yet, Aaron’s message is simple: “Come in. Give us a try. Give us a shot. You know, let us know what you think.”
For folks who came early on and weren’t impressed, Aaron acknowledges that “early on there were some hiccups” but says things have changed. “We’ve changed a few things” based on customer feedback.
And for the loyal customers who’ve stuck with them through the transition? “Thank you for being a loyal customer. Thank you for everything that you you’ve done to help support, you know, me and my family, and support my staff.”
The big picture
Aaron’s not trying to be Billy’s Blair Maple. “I’m not trying to be Billy’s – trying to move away from that,” he said. “We’re not going backwards.”
But he’s also not trying to be something he’s not. “This is an old school diner. That’s what it is, and that’s kind of the way we keep it. If we deviate from that too much, then we’re trying to be something we’re not. And that’s where you kind of drop off and fail a little bit, because people know when they come in here, what they’re looking for, what they’re going to get.”
Aaron’s philosophy is about constant improvement without losing the core identity. “I don’t want to stay stagnant. I don’t want to become complacent and be stuck in okay, you know, just okay. We’re here. This is where we’re at. I want to keep growing as we go.”
The lunch crowd is solid, breakfast has gotten noticeably better with the new cook, and they’ve made it through that crucial first year that breaks so many restaurants. Aaron admits “it’s definitely been tough” but says “we had a very good start to it.”
After talking with Aaron for an hour, it’s clear he’s learned what works and what doesn’t in Blair. He’s listening to customers, making smart changes, and not trying to be everything to everyone. Sometimes that’s exactly what a town needs – someone who knows what they’re doing and isn’t afraid to keep getting better at it.
Blair Classic Cafe is open for breakfast and lunch on Main Street downtown. They’re still cash-only, but they’ll take Venmo if you ask Aaron nicely.
