Goodie Gallery has the lunch line goods for all people

Alexander Cain
The Union-Recorder

Fri, May 16 2008

— Paul Bollinger has some big plans for his business — and all of them involve sandwiches and freshly-baked cookies.
Bollinger has been working with The Goodie Gallery for more than a year and is hoping to soon become the new owner of the popular North Columbia Street deli-bakery.
“It’s been in Milledgeville for about 25 years. I’ve been assisting with it for just about a year,” Bollinger said. “I actually met the owner while racing sailboats, and we had similar backgrounds in the food service industry as it related to Georgia College & State University. He told me that he was thinking of putting the business up on the market, and I talked him out of it.”
Bollinger, who is also a member of the local 48th Brigade that will be deployed overseas to Afghanistan next year, said his business offers multiple opportunities for the careful consumer, the hungry housewife or just your average Central Georgia resident.
“We’ll have minor changes, if anything, but I don’t believe there will be a real impact. If anything else, I’d like to expand, grow and maybe even franchise the place out,” Bollinger said.
That might be good news for the Milledgeville customers — many times it’s not the rumbling from passing trains that are heard inside the store, but the rumbling of stomachs as the lunch lines span nearly out the door on busier days.
Christi Jones of Milledgeville was one of the Goodie Gallery’s more recent customers — and has also been among its regular customers as well.
Jones visited the store on Monday afternoon for a quick lunch and for a chat with her daughter, who is one of the employees of the store.
“I’ve been coming here for a while. I love the food and the staff is real friendly,” Jones said. “I love the cookies and their sweets. They’re out of this world.”
Those are compliments Bollinger hears each day as business begins anew.
“We sell a lot of sandwiches, subs and salads. Right now we’re more of a deli-restaurant than anything else, but lunch is our biggest seller. It’s a great location that’s fairly easy to get into, and we’re centrally located in Milledgeville.”
When asked which of his store’s many items sell the most, Bollinger had to think a moment before responding.
“I know that people really like the subs and sandwiches. I think it’s the affordability. Our prices provide a lot of food for the amount that you pay. The chicken sandwiches are strong sellers,” Bollinger said.
The Goodie Gallery is located at 812 N. Columbia St. near the railroad tracks.

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