Every business owner visualizes having a successful grand opening. Kelly Café owners Jacob and Kelly Pham are no different. On Friday, May 4, the married couple’s eatery officially opened for business.

Located at 1 W Main Street, Salem’s newest café is open seven days a week from noon to 10 p.m.

“We offer over 50 ice cream flavors and make our treats on site and with good quality ingredients,” Jacob said. “We encourage customers to sample our products first because we want them to be happy and walk out of the door with a pleasant feeling every single time.”

After experiencing Kelly Café last weekend, Salem native Richard Glover says he’ll indeed be a regular customer.

“I’ve already been six times this month. Their smoothies are simply delicious. My favorite is the vanilla butter flavor,” Glover said. “I have some family visiting this summer. When they arrive, I plan on taking them to Kelly Café.”

Jacob says he and his wife were inspired to open a café in 2016. Before any discussions of a site were broached, Jacob knew that he wanted to name the business after his wife of 14 years who currently works as a full-time mom to their two daughters – Evelyn, 13, and Abigail, 11.

“We were on spring break vacation in Florida two years ago, and I took a week-long ‘Eclairs, Macarons and Boutique Pastry’ class. On our way back to Roanoke, we started to brainstorm some ideas,” Jacob said. “Once we returned, we started looking for a good location. We also did a lot of research and reached out to many people. We ended up signing a lease in July 2017 at 3565 Electric Road, and the Kelly Cafe Roanoke was open in October 2017. The Salem location became available for lease two months later.”

Added Kelly: “Since our daughters are enrolling in the Salem school system, we want to be a little closer to home and get more involved with the community.”

Because Jacob is a full-time practicing dentist, he’s only able to work at the café a few days each week. He knows, however, that things are in good hands when he’s not there.

“Because of the relaxed atmosphere, our employees have fun every day,” Kelly said. “We take time to greet and talk to every customer that walks through the door and do everything we can to make sure they are happy with their purchase.”

According to Jacob, everything that he and his wife have accomplished over the years was done the traditional way: with hard work.

“We opened this cafe because of our passion, not to maximize profits. We want to create a family fun environment for everyone,” he said.

Area residents are encouraged to visit their Facebook page for the latest Kelly Café news.