New antique-mall restaurant open in Shawnee

Paula Gettles makes a kick-ass ham and navy bean soup. It was one of the featured items last week at her three-week-old restaurant, In the Garden, tucked into a corner of a former Hy-Vee supermarket at  6495 Quivira Road, in Shawnee. The supermarket was transformed into a suburban vintage venue, Nellie-Nico’s Antique Mall, three years ago by Janelle Coons, a former Hallmark employee.

Coons liked the suggestion of offering light meals and pastries to the shoppers that wander the expansive mall (which currently boasts 500 dealers). It’s not  an unusual concept: the Mission Road Antique Mall has offered lunch service at the Bloomsbury Bistro for years.

Coons entertained a few offers from would-be restaurant operators, but Paula Gettles and her sister Lee Labinski  proved to be the most serious, opening In the Garden last month.


Gettles is currently only serving during the weekends – 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday. There’s always a featured soup, chili, a few sandwich selections (including a French dip served with a cup of au jus) , and various house-made pastries.

The Nellie-Nico’s Antique Mall has longer hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.