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54  GUIDE TO YELLOW SPR INGS  |  2020 – 2021 under Wright for several years. While the two women were solidifying what would become a decades-long rela- tionship with the restaurant, many of their fellow co-op owners and staffers were beginning to lose interest in the venture. In January of 1983, Korkan and Smith bought their co-workers’ shares in the restaurant and officially incorporated the res - taurant as “The Winds Cafe, Inc.” The name was changed, Smith told Edible Columbus, because “everyone always shortened it.” Wright continued as head chef for a few years before moving down the street to open Iko’s Harmony Cafe in the Oten Gallery. Korkan became head chef as well as co-owner, and over the years of retaining that position, she would work to shore up the culinary knowledge she’d gleaned from Wright. In 1999, she took a sabbati - cal to study at the California Sushi Institute and worked on a fig farm. She received her certification from the Culinary Institute of America and, in 2004, won a Cath- erine Brandel scholarship to intern at famed California restaurant Chez Panisse. She also mentored other cooks and taught culinary classes at Dorothy Lane Market. Smith and Korkan’s com- mitment to staying local didn’t only extend to where their food was sourced. The Winds has often provided food for events that benefitted charitable organizations, with Smith and Korkan supporting organizations like Tecumseh Land Trust and Planned Par- enthood Southwest Ohio. In 2008, Korkan was diag- nosed with Parkinson’s dis- ease. The aggressive disease ended her tenure as head chef — but not her love of cooking. Korkan had always been a voracious reader, and when she died in 2019, her obituary noted that she continued to read cookbooks and restaurant reviews “long after she was no longer able to eat,” finding joy in “just the idea of cooking and eating.” The obituary cited her years with The Winds as “the lifetime pursuit that came to define her both profession - ally and personally.” Smith remains the owner of The Winds Cafe and the last connection to the restaurant’s early days as a co-op. The menu has evolved since then to become “European inspired with an American twist.” Though the menu may have changed, and continues to change, The Winds Cafe retains its dedication to environmental mindfulness when sourcing its food, just as it did in its early days. The restaurant no longer grows its own vegetables — “That was so much work,” Smith told Edible Columbus — but it has, for many years, worked with local farmers to procure the food used in its bimonthly menu, which changes seasonally to reflect what the farmers grow. For that reason, The Winds website states: “No, you cannot have tomato on your sandwich in February.” —Lauren “Chuck” Shows The Emporium, founded 1979 The Emporium is, ostensi- bly, a coffee shop and wine store. But for villagers, it’s much more than that. Often called “the com - munity’s living room,” the Emporium has become the central spot for villagers to meet, chat, play music, dance and yes, eat and drink, at least before COVID-19 restrictions. In fact, when they bought it 15 years ago, owners Kurt Miyazaki and Ruth Hoff transformed the space with that intention in mind. They painted the walls a deep gold to add to a feeling of warmth and brought in secondhand sofas and mismatched tables, chairs and table lamps to create a comfortable and homey space. A good cafe performs a unique role in people’s lives, Miyazaki told the News at the time. At its best, it offers both shelter and stimulation, a sweet mixture of private and public spheres. “A cafe is a poetic space,” he said. The owners also started what has become a popular Friday night occasion, the wine tastings, which feature live music, pours of wine and an always-packed dance floor, a tradition curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic that vil- lagers hope will return soon. Used books were added a few years later. But even before its latest incarnation, the Emporium served a vital role in down- town life. Emporium, after all, translates to “market center,” coming from the Greek word emporos , meaning “merchant traveler.” And for more than 40 years, villagers have been coming to its place in the center of town to buy coffee, wine, newspapers and other essential sundries. The store was started in 1979 by David Scott and Andrew Spencer, who sold coffee and gourmet cook - ware and a small selection of wine. Wanita Murphy bought it in 1983, running it until 2005. One of the first things Murphy did was place an order for French bread to go with the wine. The cookware went out, and more consum- ables came in. “I realized you can only sell so many pieces of good qual- ity cookware in a small town before all your customers are supplied with what they need for a long time,” she told the News. “When the economy PHOTO: DIANE CHIDDISTER Wanita Murphy, left, ran the Emporium from 1983 to 2005 before selling it to current proprietor, Kurt Miyazaki. PHOTO: DENNIE EAGLESON; ANTIOCHIANA, ANTIOCH COLLEGE Mary Kay Smith in the kitchen at the early Winds Cafe.