Bowling Green restaurant gives women in recovery a second chance
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — At Lesa’s Dairy Dip, customers come for old-fashioned hamburgers, fries and shakes.
But behind the counter, the Bowling Green restaurant is also providing something less visible: an opportunity for women in recovery to rebuild their lives.
Owner Lesa Booker employs women who have gone through her sober living program, giving them a place to work alongside others who understand the challenges of recovery.
“They couldn’t find any jobs. Nobody would hire them,” Booker said. “A lot of them have a lot of bad charges. So I decided to give them a chance.”
Booker said she knows firsthand how difficult it can be to find a path forward after addiction.
She has been sober for nearly nine years and started her own sober living home after going through a sober living program herself multiple times.
Booker said she eventually realized she needed to leave behind the people, places and things that contributed to her addiction.
“That’s the only way that I could stay sober,” Booker said.
She eventually brought the recovery program into her work at the restaurant, creating an environment where the women could earn money, develop job skills and support one another.
Ashley McGowen has worked for Booker for about five years. She said her life before entering the program was drastically different.
“I was on drugs. I didn’t have any contact with my children. I didn’t have nowhere to live. I didn’t have no vehicle. I didn’t have anything before I got here,” McGowen said.
Today, McGowen said the job gives her a safe place to work while continuing her recovery.
“Everybody’s in recovery, so everybody’s trying to do the next right thing,” she said.
McGowen said she has also been able to rebuild most relationships she once lost.
Tamantha Delrosal, a cook at the restaurant, said working at Lesa’s Dairy Dip has given her a sense of purpose.
Before entering the program, Delrosal said her life was marked by repeated trips to rehabilitation and jail.
“Today, it’s the complete opposite. It’s full of peace and godliness,” she said.
Delrosal said the women working at the restaurant have grown together through recovery and look out for one another.
“It took a village to help me get to where I’m at today,” she said. “And I just want to be a part of somebody’s village and help them the way that Lesa and them have helped me.”
Delrosal is also preparing to take on a larger role in the recovery program. Booker plans to retire from operating the sober living home this year and said Delrosal will take over.
Muriel Perry, who works the front counter and makes the restaurant’s shakes, said the support she receives from her coworkers has been one of the most meaningful parts of her recovery.
Perry moved to Bowling Green from Michigan in 2001 and said she spent years in and out of jail before finding recovery.
She said working at the restaurant has helped her regain confidence and realize she is capable of more than she once believed.
“If I can do it, anybody can do it,” Perry said.
Perry said the women do not have to face difficult days alone.
“You have to know that somebody truly cares about you when you have nothing to offer them,” she said. “It’s amazing. It’s truly a blessing.”
Booker said the support goes both ways.
“I struggle, they help me, and they struggle, and I help them,” Booker said. “We all struggle.”
Booker said she considers the women who work at the restaurant like family and hopes they eventually move on to better opportunities while continuing their sobriety.
“They’re like my children that I don’t have,” Booker said. “They are like my children, and I truly love them.”
Booker said the restaurant’s recovery-focused environment is rooted in the same faith that helped her get sober.
She encourages anyone struggling with addiction not to give up.
“Anything’s possible,” Booker said. “You just gotta want it and know that it’s a better way.”
Lesa’s Dairy Dip is located at 200 College St. in Bowling Green. It is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
