Worth the wait

The moment many of us have been waiting for is here! The new 7th Street Community Cafe is opening on Monday, July 7th. Located across the street from Intermountain Health St. Mary’s Regional Hospital at 2232 N. Seventh St., this delightful cafe will be serving food from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily Monday through Friday.

I had the opportunity to attend a special pre-opening lunch a few days ago and was thrilled to see how it looked.

Formerly the 7th Street Deli, the new restaurant has been renovated and is light, fresh and airy. The cafe is a warm and inviting space filled with natural light, beautiful living plant walls, colorful food murals, and a variety of seating.

You can choose outdoor dining, dining inside on a long high top table with views of nature, individual tables, or the centerpiece of the cafe — a large communal table. I enjoyed watching people obviously enjoying their lunch and delighting in the new cafe.

The Community Cafe’s menu is a fun mix of fresh foods featuring sandwiches, salads, quiche, soup and sides such as a Mediterranean salad with garbanzo beans, tomatoes, cucumbers and more. I love that they have a rotating “local fruit of the day” and when I was there, it was delicious organic black pearl cherries from Stoned Fruit Orchard in Palisade. The menu retains some of the favorites from when it was the 7th Street Deli, and also includes new offerings from Chef Kaye Davis and her team. The food is made in-house — including yummy fruit leathers, ice creams and sorbets. I was particularly a fan of the luscious vanilla fig ice cream. It was a great way to end a lovely meal.

Ordering is done at the counter and then your food is brought to you when it is ready.

The people at my table all ordered different sandwiches and everyone really enjoyed them. The egg salad sandwich was deemed “perfection!” by one companion and the Santa Fe turkey sandwich was a spicy combo that delighted another. And, of course, the grilled cheese with a choice of cheeses and accompanied by a garlicy tzatziki-esque dipping sauce was divine! Another guest announced at the end of her meal, “That was sooo good!” The trickiest part of the menu is trying to decide what to order since it all sounds so tasty.

And that is a very OK “problem” to have!

The menu is sure to be a hit with something to please everyone. They even have vegan options such as cashew cheese and tempeh bacon, along with a variety of meats and cheeses for your sandwiches. Gluten-free foods are also available and a selection of graband- go items. At some point, they are planning to have some full meals such as a quiche, quarts of soup, and salad kits available in their to-go refrigerator. The Community Cafe is hoping to add breakfast hours in the future and I know that will be very popular, too.

I asked the Community Food Bank’s executive director, Alisha Wenger, what staffing looks like and she noted, “It will be a mix of CMU Tech Culinary Apprentices and Interns, Workforce Interns, and eager folks looking to learn more about the culinary fields. We have two core culinary leaders on staff — Chef Kaye Davis as our Culinary & Food Systems Director, and recent CMU grad Collin Lewis as our Cafe Manager.”

Wenger commented, “We are heading toward another season of deep uncertainty and concern for our community members who are struggling with food and nutrition insecurity.

The Community Cafe will provide visibility to our work and diversified funding streams to help buffer financial and operational needs of our food assistance work.”

According to their website, “All profits generated from the business will go directly to support the Community Food Bank and their mission to advance community health and economic stability in Mesa County by boosting nutritious food access and addressing root causes of food insecurity.”

I love how these compassionate people are working together to help raise awareness of important issues, while providing delicious foods and a delightful new restaurant. In the future, they are planning on having pop-up brunches, fundraising dinners, private parties, cooking classes and more in the space. “We are so grateful for everyone in our community who came together to make this possible. From our major donors, grant funders, and everyone who jumped in with donations during the crowdfunding campaign — this is truly a community effort!” said Community Food Bank Development Director Jessica Mays.

As a gentle reminder, new restaurants take a bit to settle into a rhythm. I rarely visit a place before they have been open for at least a month. And if I do dine before then, I make sure I leave ample time for grace and patience. Running a restaurant while juggling the Community Food Bank and all the things these wonderful people do for others is a massive undertaking.

Thanks for supporting them with your business, your kindness, and your smile. Wishing them all the best with this terrific addition to our Grand Valley community!

If you have any food and beverage-related events or information you want readers to know about, please email me at AllThingsFoodChristine@ gmail.com

The 7th Street Community Cafe, 2232 N. Seventh St., is set to open on Monday.

Formerly the 7th Street Deli, the new restaurant has been renovated and is light, fresh and airy. (Christine Gallagher photo)

FOOD NEWS

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Chef Kaye Davis and Executive Director Alisha Wenger at the new 7th Street Community Cafe. (Chrstine Gallagher photo)

The 7th Street Community Cafe features a variety of seating — including outdoors. (Christine Gallagher photo)

This egg salad sandwich on rye bread was deemed “perfection!” by one of my companions. She chose the yummy Mediterranean salad as her side. (Christine Gallagher photo)

A yummy ooey-gooey grilled cheese sandwich was served with delicious cherries from Palisade’s Stoned Fruit Orchard. (Chrstine Gallagher photo)