At five years old, Gloria Shull had a vision of herself giving food to people from all over the world.
“Jesus, I’m just a little girl,” she remembered praying. “How can I feed all these people?”
But 12 years ago, Gloria and her husband Stu came up with the answer – Gloria’s World Village, an international grocery store and restaurant on North 15th Street.
The couple lives above the restaurant, which was converted from a 1928 colonial home. A small sign marked “Private” provides the only evidence that one of the rooms near the upstairs dining area is actually a bedroom.
But Gloria said most of her patrons know the Shulls live there, so she does her best to make them feel at home too.
Restaurant customers can count on Gloria stopping by their table to visit. If things are slow, she and Stu might both pull up a chair and chat.
“This is like just having friends drop by,” Gloria said.
And the Shulls are always diligent hosts. Stu runs the kitchen while Gloria takes care of the guests, often making special drinks and desserts for them to sample.
Running the restaurant all by themselves makes for long days, but the Shulls don’t mind.
“We may not have much in some ways, but we have a warm bed, good friends, and good food,” Stu said.
There is no doubt for either of them that this business is their destiny.
“We’re supposed to keep going because this is what God called me to do when I was little,” Gloria said.
