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Wayne Casey, Owner
The Red Shoe Restaurant |
Wayne Casey, the owner of The Red Shoe
Restaurant, was born and raised in a small
coal mining community in Southern West Virginia.
He is one of eleven children; he has three
brothers and seven sisters. Casey graduated
from West Virginia State College Institute with
a B.A. Degree in Secondary Education. He
credits his brothers and sisters with being some
of his best teachers. Casey says of them, “They
taught me the real lessons of life.” However,
Casey acknowledges his mother as being the
best teacher of his life. He says, “She
loved me and taught me how to walk through the
many storms I confronted as a 14 year old child
facing integration in southern West Virginia in
1956.” |
Casey is a
man of many talents. While in West Virginia he played
football, basketball and baseball, and was quite
successful at all three. After graduation, Casey’s hard
work and drive eventually led him to Hartford, CT where
he was Executive Director of Head Start and
Vice-President of Planning and Development, in addition
to participating in a bowling league and chairing
multiple committees. Casey eventually migrated to the
South to Atlanta, GA, where he continues to be as active
and involved as he ever was. While in Atlanta, Casey
was inspired to open The Red Shoe Restaurant.
The
inspiration for the restaurant comes from Casey’s sons.
The restaurant is partially a gift to them. The color
scheme is comprised of their favorite colors, and
inspired by Casey’s like of red stilettos.
The Red
Shoe will be banking on a combination of excellent
food, good music and a close intimate setting to make it
a hot spot in Decatur, GA; located at 2891 East Ponce
DeLeon Ave. We are still trying to find our niche to
see what works best: what nights to open, how long to
stay open and should we serve breakfast everyday. We
know that Thursday, Friday and Saturday are great nights
to open because those are our entertainment nights.
Spoken word and open mic are available on Thursday
evenings. Friday night is a jamming Blues and Old
School R&B night. Finally, Saturday night is Jazz with
an infusion of Be Bop and some old R&B and Jazz
standards; the like of Sarah Vaughn and Sam Cooke
The Red Shoe has a red and white color scheme.
The walls are white, highlighting an airbrushed pair of
beautiful red stiletto shoes as if they were ready to
walk out onto the floor and start dancing. There is
also a large portrait of Casey’s twin sons, who make up
one half of the R&B quartet, Jagged Edge, along with the
other two members. Upon the walls, is also an impressive
red and black airbrushed mural of the legends of jazz.
The mural includes Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, Miles
Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Lou Donaldson, Duke Ellington,
Ray Charles at the piano and others. This tribute,
alone, is worth dropping in to see. To add to the décor,
there is a cozy red carpeted corner for the musicians to
perform, and a sparkling wood dance floor where our
guests can do the electric slide and boogie into the wee
hours of the morning. The restaurant has a cozy little
bar, and a seating section to fit your many moods.
There is a red section, where the tables are red with
red table cloths, a blue section with blue booths and
for your sensible side, a section with your basic white
table cloths.
If you are impressed by the décor, wait until you taste
the food. The food is ordered from the menu, which
changes nightly from Tuesday through Saturday. The large
portions are reasonably priced at $13.50. Don’t worry,
you can order additional items from the menu. There is
also a great selection, from collards to cobblers. The
menu includes smothered pork chops, fried chicken,
bar-b-que ribs, beans and rice, macaroni and cheese and
wonderful deserts. Lunch is priced at $7.50, and is
served between the hours of 11:30 A.M. and 2:00 P.M.,
followed by dinner from 6:00 P.M. until late in the
evening. The meat is prepared per order, but for every
minute you wait, you will be more than rewarded in taste
and quality.
In addition to lunch and dinner, The Red Shoe is
considering a Sunday jazz brunch beginning in 2007.
The Red Shoe definitely has a combination of
excellent food and great music by some of the
metropolitan outstanding talent, including Mr. Casey’s
favorite group, Jagged Edge. Casey’s favorite female
singer, Linda Ransom will also perform periodically.
The Red Shoe is a great place to come dine and enjoy
yourself. It offers a touch of class for the 30 and
over crowd. The cozy warm atmosphere invites you to put
on your red shoes and come out Thursday, Friday and
Saturday evenings to 2891 East Ponce DeLeon. (404)
377-5656. The RedShoeRestaurant.com |
