The wait for Bailey’s Range on Shaw (4175 Shaw) is nearly over. Five years in the making, Dave and Kara Bailey’s second location of their popular burgers-and-shakes concept is slated to open in a long-shuttered gas station this Thursday, July 7. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Building
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At first glance, the building resembles a small 1940s filling station, with glass service bay doors, though the space is larger than it initially appears. “From the street, you can really only see about half of the building,” says Dave. The Baileys added on to the back to create a light, airy dining room with floor-to-ceiling overhead doors. “Those doors will be open on all nice days,” he says.
The restaurant seats 210 inside and another 100 on two patios. “Our kitchen with a to-go window is on the side,” Dave notes. “People can walk right up, pick up their orders, and sit outside if they like.”
Artist Scott Pondrom created an entry sign that welcomes guests. Pondrom also hand-painted murals on the dining room walls of burgers, frosty drinks, onion rings, pickles, lemonade, ice cream desserts, and more. Kara selected the overall color scheme, light fixtures, and tiles throughout the interior, among other playful touches throughout the space.
“Kara did a great job with the color selections, the fixtures—all the details,” says Dave. “We’re going for light and bright. The building itself was so tight and dark when everything was boarded up, we wanted to make it as bright and airy as we could.”
The Menu
The menu is similar to the downtown location, with an emphasis on burgers and shakes. The former is made with grass-fed, grain-finished meat and buns baked in house in a vast array of combinations. Even the condiments are made in house in intriguing combinations, such as chipotle ketchup or bourbon mayo.
The menu also includes salads, sandwiches, small plates, and sides, including fried pickles, fries, and onion rings. “There will be a handful of appetizers and family-oriented shared plates,” says Dave. The restaurant’s popular burger battle concept—in which two burgers compete against each other to see which customers like most—will pit the new Shaw location against the downtown restaurant. “The kitchen crews at each shop will put a burger each month for bragging rights,” says Dave.
As for drinks, in addition to the typical lineup of nonalcoholic drinks, there will be boozy lemonades, teas, and boozy ice cream shakes, with ice cream (including two vegan options) made from scratch in house. “We’ll have a full bar with 24 draft lines—three wines, a couple of cocktails, and the rest will be local beers,” says Dave.
The Background
The Baileys first noticed the crumbling structure, overgrown with weeds and trash, while walking through the neighborhood. When the community development corporation put out a request for proposals, the Baileys responded.
“Kara and I talked it over. We love this neighborhood, Rooster was doing well, and we thought this would be a good move for a second Bailey’s location,” Dave recalls.
After the couple’s proposal was accepted, they set to work in October 2016. There were a series of delays over the next five years—the pandemic, remediation, issues to work through with historic tax credits, says Dave—but the finished restaurant is now a far cry from the initial eyesore.
In April, when the Shaw Neighborhood Association organized a neighborhood cleanup, the Baileys handed out burgers and fries to volunteers. “Four hundred neighbors showed up that day,” recalls Kara. The Baileys plan to host quarterly fundraisers for the neighborhood association moving forward, Dave adds.
“We are so happy we are opening now,” says Dave. “The timing is good.”
