110520_GYS

GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 53 tempeh, soy cheese, arti - chokes, spinach, eggplant, broccoli, zucchini and pineap- ple. Before the dining room was closed due to the coro- navirus pandemic, customers also enjoyed the restaurant’s 21-item salad bar. As for the unique name, the original owners of Ha Ha wanted to remind them- selves to keep their sense of humor even while running a business, said Walters, who doesn’t give credence to old rumors that linked Ha Ha’s name to after-hours parties and psychedelic mushrooms. —Audrey Hackett and Diane Chiddister Bonadies Glasstudio, founded 1976 Glass — dazzling, twin- kling, colorful glass. That’s the heart of Bonadies Glasstudio on Xenia Avenue, and it’s the passion of longtime owner Valerie Spinning, a stained glass artist whose pieces are among the array of artist- created items at the shop. Her specialties include Tiffany-style lamps, win - dows, mirrors and fused glass Christmas ornaments, which she sells year round. She also does custom designs and repair work. Local artist Joe Williams worked for her for many years, creating designs she would assemble and solder into finished forms. “I like creating a piece — finishing it and looking at it,” she said. “Hopefully, it makes people happy.” Spinning, who lives in London, Ohio, has owned Bonadies since 1990. A part- time employee at the time, she purchased the business from original owner Alicia Caulfield. It was a leap — one that Caulfield herself helped make possible. “She sold it to me on a land contract. It was very generous of her,” Spinning said. Caulfield and her then- husband, Lew Bonadies, opened the shop in June of 1976. Both were stained glass artists who worked out of the studio at the back of the store. Spinning learned the art before landing at the shop, having taken a class in West Liberty, then displaying pieces locally at the Import House, where she previously worked. While Spinning remains busy in the store’s studio, these days the shop offers more than fused, hand- blown and stained glass. She expanded its offerings after the 2008 economic downturn to include jewelry, pottery and items in wood, such as heartwood boxes and wood clocks and purses. Spinning attends buyer shows and makes purchases from individual artists across the country. “The artists I carry are those I find to be wonder - ful,” she said of her criteria in selecting pieces. She also keeps price point in mind, knowing that an item has to be able to sell. The shop currently employs two part-time workers. Also in residence, though not on the payroll, are three “shop cats” — strays that showed up on the doorstep. “I’m a sucker for animals,” Spinning confided. The cats have proven to be “pretty good” around the breakables, she said. And while they doze in the sun, the glass glitters and gleams. —Audrey Hackett The Winds Cafe, founded 1977 Those who love The Winds Cafe can count on a few things when they sit for a meal: there’s the sunny dining room, lit from large windows in the afternoon, or the airy outdoor dining area, walls adorned with a rotating dressing of local art, and food, often lingered over at length, sourced right near home. The Winds was a some- what different animal when it opened in February of 1977. Originally called The Four Winds Cafe, the restaurant began as a co-op, and was located where Asanda Imports is today. Described by The Winds website as a “sincere, funky little place,” The Four Winds began with a mission to serve good food, cooked well and sourced with the environment in mind. Back then, diners might have been treated to homemade yogurt and vegetables that were grown on site by staff. The co-op’s owners were also its operators, providing what a News ad described as a “full … staff to serve you quickly.” In the kitchen was Ikuko “Iko” Wright, a Japanese chef with a wide variety of tastes and influences — from French and Italian cuisine to Mexican and South American dishes to Asian-inspired food. In its early days, The Four Winds would serve a family-style meal on Sundays and host live music performances. Kim Korkan came on board just a few months after the restaurant opened, beginning as a dishwasher. Accord- ing to The Winds website, Korkan was hooked after tasting Wright’s dish “Shrimp Mosca,” an homage to Louisiana Italian restaurant Mosca’s. Mary Kay Smith joined as a dishwasher later the same year; she was called in that first night to fill an emergency opening and never left. In the late 1980s, The Four Winds moved across the street to 215 Xenia Ave., the restaurant’s current loca- tion. By that time, Korkan and Smith had both studied PHOTO: ANTIOCHIANA, ANTIOCH COLLEGE The Winds Cafe, in an undated photo, shows the former space that is now home to Asanda Imports. Note the golden arches on the bathroom. PHOTO: YS NEWS ARCHIVE Alicia Caulfield, original onwer of Bonadies Glasstudio, pictured here in 1982.