How much is a Ferrell’s hamburger worth if it’s the first one off the grill following a fire that closed the Main Street eatery eight months earlier?
Hoptowners, you’re about to find out.
Ferrell’s Snappy Service is preparing to re-open following extensive work to repair damages from a fire on July 4, and the owners are offering a silent auction for the first burger off the grill. It will benefit a downtown neighbor of Ferrell’s — the Hopkinsville-Christian County Public Library.
The Burgers for Books silent auction will start at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28. Bidding will start at $20 and proceed at $10 increments. Bids will be taken at the library on Bethel Street, and bidders must be at least 18 years old. The auction will end at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11.
Then, at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, the Christian County Chamber of Commerce will cut a ribbon for the ceremonial re-opening of Hopkinsville’s oldest restaurant. The auction burger will be grilled after the ribbon is cut, and Ferrell’s will re-open for business at 5 the next morning, Valentine’s Day.
“I hope we are ready,” Phillip Ferrell told Hoptown Chronicle. “There’s a lot to do between now and then.”
Everything in the 647-square-foot restaurant — the grill, counter, stools and other fixtures —
will be new. The only exception is the original terrazzo tile floor. It survived the fire.
The walls will be covered in stainless steel and tile, and a signature green neon light runs along the walls just below the ceiling. It creates a green glow that’s already caught the attention of people walking and driving through downtown.
Phillip Ferrell’s wife, Carolyn, had the idea for the auction. They did a similar library benefit when their Madisonville restaurant opened following repairs from a fire.
“I have been in education all my life, and I know that books, reading and knowledge are the answer to the success of a community,” Carolyn Ferrell said in the news release from the library. “The library is the heart of any town, and I thought this opportunity was appropriate for the library for Valentine’s day.”
The auction money will be used for a library project initiated by this year’s Hopkinsville-Christian County Leadership Class.
“The Leadership Class approached the library about their desire to repair and renovate the patio between the first and second floors,” Library Director DeeAnna Sova said in a news release. “While the patio is currently functional, it needs updating in order to enhance the patron experience. The Burgers for Books silent auction will provide the class with seed money to begin the project. We could not be more excited that this opportunity and project aligned.”
Phillip Ferrell’s late parents established the Hopkinsville restaurant in 1936.
Repairs on the restaurant — which has always been in the same Hopkinsville location — began last fall. A $15,000 downtown matching grant, approved by the Local Development Corp. board in September, offset some of the expenses not covered by insurance, according to the owners.
Phillip Ferrell said the menu will not change. That means hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hotdogs, chili, chips and pie. Also eggs and such for breakfast. No fries, though, as tradition and the size of the restaurant dictate.
The restaurant will be open around the clock Monday through Saturday. It will be closed on Sunday.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.
