And owner Barb Galvin wouldn’t have it any other way, since there’s no other place she’d rather be, she said.

Galvin has worked in restaurants most of her life, roughly 60 years.

“It is something I have always enjoyed, I did it when I was very young,” Galvin said. “My family lived in Tennessee and I had an aunt that owned a restaurant and when I was like 11 or 12 years old I used to go to work there.”

When Galvin first purchased the restaurant at 633 Central Ave., she made few changes to the menu from the previous establishment, to avoid alienating regular customers.

BARB’S CAFE AT 633 Central Ave. in Florence, Wis., is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. (Jim Paul/Daily News photo)

They did, however, make major alterations to the layout of the building. When Galvin took over the business, customers had to cut through the kitchen to get to the restrooms. A hallway was added, as well as a back dining room to handle larger crowds.

She let her menu evolve over time. Breakfast became available at any time. Galvin believes that helps draw the people in.

“I serve breakfast all day long; it is quite a draw, particularly on the weekend,” she said. “A lot of people don’t get up early and they really want breakfast.”

Her signature dish, she said, now would be her three-egg omelets, with several variations. Among the popular choices are the farmer’s, western, country, Mexican and the chicken Florentine.

Although the all-day breakfast is popular, Galvin also has plenty of fans of the lunch offerings, such as the patty melt, hot beef and reuben sandwiches.

Other menu highlights include the chicken wings, club sandwich and chef salad. Also featured for lunch are soups and homemade chili.

For dessert there are a variety of pies, all made on site, along with cakes, muffins and sundaes.

For a time, Galvin had the restaurant on the market but decided against selling to an outside party when her grandson, Randall Gregg, said that he would like to take over.

Galvin has since been helping Gregg learn all the aspects of the business.

Even though she is in the process of turning the reins over to her grandson, Galvin has no immediate plans to retire. She’ll stick around, helping Gregg make the transition from cook to owner.

“I will work for (Gregg), I am not one that is going to be comfortable being home, retired continually,” Galvin said. “He (Gregg) asked me, ‘Can you still work for me, Nana?’ and I said absolutely.”

Those concerned that might make for changes on the horizon need not worry — Gregg plans to keep all the menu items and the look of Barb’s Cafe in place. No sense of messing with a winning formula, they said.

Over the years, Barb’s truly has become the family business, in addition to grandson Gregg, Galvin’s daughter Shannon Steber does a wide variety of tasks, as does daughter-in-law Trisha Young.

However, Galvin said she considers all her employees to be family. In all, Barb’s Cafe employs 13 people, including three who have been present the whole time Galvin has owned the cafe.

While 13 employees sound like a lot for a small cafe, Galvin says she is still short-handed.

“I am pretty busy all the time. I am closed on Monday and Tuesday due to not having enough help,” Galvin said. “… But I find when I am closed Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday I am exceptionally busy.”

Barb’s Cafe has proven popular with more than the locals, she said.

“You could go to Green Bay and say, ‘I’m from Florence’ and they will say, ‘Do you go to Barb’s?'” Galvin said.

Barbs Cafe is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.