By JENNIFER MOONSONG
Glasgow News 1
The Fine Arts Bistro, known as FAB, has become a downtown Glasgow staple recognized for its omelets, its secret recipe chicken salad, and its use of locally sourced ingredients. The establishment was opened by Peggy and Sandy Bates, and the torch was passed to Danny Williams in 2020. Despite many obstacles, Williams has made a continued success of the restaurant and has found ways to make it his own.
“I bought FAB in January 2020. My father passed away, and in February my brother passed away. In March, COVID hit,” Williams said.
It was undoubtedly a lot to be up against in the small business world, but Williams persevered. The business is now a thriving example of what can happen in a quaint downtown district. Even so, it might be considered an unlikely turn in life for a man whose first passion was music.
“Music was my thing. Since I was a young guy, less than 10, I was obsessed with music. I took a tennis racket, removed all the strings but six and taped a duffel bag strap to it and pretended it was a guitar,” Williams recollected.
Later he got his hands on a real guitar.
“My brother had a guitar and a easy chord book of Beatles songs. He got so mad that I caught on before him. I learned to play ‘Hey Jude’ in an afternoon, and I never saw the guitar again,” Williams said.
Guitar or no guitar, Williams immersed himself in music. He learned to play the drums, the mandolin, and in college he studied music.
“I kept up all of my theory studies and practice through reading,” he said.
Danny Williams, owner and chef at FAB, prepping fresh foods.
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However, when it came to work, it was jobs in the food industry that paid the bills.
“I worked at a fast food Cajun place called Yozo’s. It was one of the few jobs I ever quit. I got a job at a great place called Emmitt’s. It was an immaculate restaurant that was a man’s childhood farmhouse turned into an unbelievably cool place. At that point I had not prepared food. It was foreign to me. But they were looking for a prep cook and I took the job with no experience at all,” said Williams.
It was then that Williams found his second passion and dived into learning.
Salads with locally sourced veggies is a favorite for FAB goers.
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“It was like being at culinary school. They made everything from scratch. They butchered their meat and fish. Thy made homemade ranch dressing, and pastries and biscuits. I was learning so much and falling in love with all of the processes,” he said.
The way Williams learned his culinary practices was also through theory.
“I started seeing it as music. A recipe is a song. You learn the basic chords and then you improvise,” he said.
Later Williams attended Sullivan to learn more about the culinary arts, but never abandoned his roots in culinary artistry. At one point, because of a cut on his hand, he abandoned food to focus solely on music again. But later got brave and returned to doing both.
“I slowly started cooking again at the house, diving deep,” Williams said.
In 2015, Williams moved to Glasgow.
“I was trying to grow a lot of food on the farm. I started taking samples to Peggy and Sandy at FAB. I was trying to grow organic vegetables. I told Sandy about my culinary background and I started working catering events with him. Kelly Underwood encouraged them to hire me. Over time they gave me more and more free range, and I started ordering their food and adding menu items and budgeting the kitchen,” he said.
When he purchased the business five years later, it was an easy transition and the community was already familiar with him. In the process of taking an established eatery and making it his own, Williams has found a way of bringing globally inspired culinary flavors to regionally popular dishes.
“It’s about taking those flavors from around the world and using them in ways people feel comfortable with and love,” Williams said.
Smiles abound for those who sample FAB coffee combos.
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He says when he’s not the chef, and he cooks on his own time, he likes experimenting with different ingredients that may eventually become part of the menu.
“I’m really into farro these days, I love the texture of it. I like to make it risotto style as well,” Williams said.
From the perspective of a small business owner, he says the trick is staying relevant as the community grows.
“You have to keep changing and saying current. You can’t get attached to the way you do things, you have to switch it up to remain relevant,” he said.
Unique twists on sandwiches, soups and salads is a mainstay of FAB.
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“What Danny has done is give the community elevated lunch fare with unique flavors. Truly upped the game for local food,” said Kelly Underwood, one of FAB’s employees.
“He has done a great job if this.”
To see the daily specials, visit the FAB Facebook page.
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