Kareesa Wilson intended to buy dishes, not booths, when she attended the Badger Candy Kitchen auction in October 2002 on the Capitol Square.

"I was pretty disappointed that the dishes were already gone when I got there. I didn't intend to buy the booths, actually. I just raised my hand to get the bidding started," she recalled.

Next thing she knew, she'd scored an entire wall of vintage 1920s-era soda fountain booths for $10.

The venerable candy and soda fountain business, a fixture on the Square at 7 W. Main St. for nearly 80 years, was sold off by the family of long-time owner Nick Galanos after he died of cancer. An essential feature of the shop's interior landscape, the booths were still perfectly functional, and had a fine patina of use. For generations, Madisonians had enjoyed sitting there to enjoy sweets or a soda.

"The auctioneer looked at me and asked, 'You want the other wall for $10, too?' I think I was kind of in shock, so I said yes. I had no idea what I was going to do with them," Wilson said.

Fortunately, she had a half-dozen friends and relatives who could help dismantle the booths, and access to a trailer to move them. There was also plenty of storage space in a barn on her parents' farm outside of Monroe.

Three years later, the booths came in handy when she and her parents, Ryan and Claudia Wilson, began remodeling the former Waffle Shop on Monroe's Courthouse Square as their own Cafe Claudeen. They opened in 2005.

Last month, the Wilson family's hard work, including Kareesa's prescient purchase of the booths, was recognized with a first-place award from Main Street Wisconsin for best interior renovation project. Main Street Wisconsin, a program of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, was established 20 years ago to encourage and support the revitalization of downtown areas throughout the state.

The remodeled Cafe Claudeen nicely balances its 1920s-era history with a stylish, contemporary feeling. The cafe features a sophisticated palette of earthy colors on both the tile floor and the lofty ceiling, plus chic lighting and, of course, the integration of the Candy Kitchen booths.

"First and foremost, I think every restaurant, and restaurant owner, needs to figure out where they fit, and what they want to do. It's a matter of learning to define yourself," said Claudia Wilson, Kareesa's mother and partner in the cafe business.

For the Wilsons, who had no formal culinary training but had run a bed and breakfast on their farm for a number of years, it has not been difficult to define their niche in Monroe.

"It's simple, whole food that we completely prepare here ourselves," Claudia Wilson explained. "We're not high end, but it's not plain food, either."

The pie crust for a wide range of luscious looking pies is made in Cafe Claudeen's kitchen, as are the homemade dinner rolls and other breads.

There are no deep-fried foods at the cafe; instead, foods are typically grilled, baked or roasted. A favorite chicken dish at the restaurant is roasted marinated chicken legs, served with a side of herb-seasoned white beans and a salad or soup. Three daily soup specials are made from scratch, and dishes like macaroni and cheese, fresh vegetable quiches or beef stroganoff are also on the menu.

Recently, the cafe began opening on Saturday mornings at 7:30 a.m. to serve a special breakfast/brunch menu that includes omelettes, stuffed french toast, specialty pancakes and creamed potatoes with chives.

On a recent afternoon, sun streamed through the front window into Cafe Claudeen's comfortable seating area, where patrons can pick up and share a newspaper. The imposing, Romanesque-style Green County Courthouse dominated the view, and a farmer's market provided a lively street scene around the Courthouse Square. Patrons sipped sodas, and ordered sweet treats.

The well-worn booths seemed right at home.

Cafe Claudeen

Where: on the Square in Monroe, 1014 17th Ave.

Phone: 329-5899.

Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cafe is closed on Sunday.