Cafe in Tampa focuses on serving local patrons while tapping trail explorers

Pat Dalke (left) and Ashley Johnson, sporting their promotional T-shirts, say they have been gratified by the positive response they’ve received from patrons since they’ve opened the Santa Fe Trail Cafe in downtown Tampa. “We just don’t want to leave them without a place to eat,” Johnson says. “These people are very good people, and they deserve to have some place to go to eat. Out-of-town guests are always welcomed at the Santa Fe Trail Cafe in Tampa, but Pat Dalke and Ashley John­son had the local clientele in mind when the mother-daughter team opened the doors April 1.

“We just didn’t want to leave them without a place to eat,” Johnson said. “These people are very good people, and they deserve to have some place to go to eat. There are so many farmers around here, and they don’t want to have to drive 20 miles to get something to eat.

Dalke added about their goal: “We’re just trying to keep people here happy.”

The town had been without a local eating establishment for some time when David Mueller, local farmer and town developer, invited the pair to operate the cafe in the newly renovated space along Tampa’s Main Street.

“It was kind of offered to us,” Johnson said. “He asked if we would be willing to do it, and we kind of made it work.”

The biggest change in the operation of the cafe is its name. The new operators opted to broaden the image of the former Tampa Cafe to something more intriguing.

“We just decided we would go with something that would fit the town,” Johnson said. “We’re right on the Santa Fe Trail, and everything else on Main Street here has something to do with the Santa Fe Trail, so we thought we’d fit in.”

The new name has attracted out-of-town clientele.

“Several people who have been driving the Santa Fe Trail have stopped here,” Dalke said. “That’s pretty cool.”

Although the cafe hasn’t necessarily reimagined its menu to reflect its historical name, the owners have hit upon at least one popular product.

“People want to buy our shirts,” Johnson said with a laugh.

Dalke added: “Actually, we had a lady come in and offer us some placemats that say Santa Fe Trail. On the back it shows where the trail went and the different stations.”

The menu at the Santa Fe Trail Cafe reflects a lot of local input, and it changes according to the requests they receive.

Popular entrees include chicken-fried steak and chicken-fried chicken on Sunday.

“Those seem to go over well,” Dalke said.

But they also have offered taco burgers, western burgers, pizza casserole, barbecued meatballs, cheesy potatoes, a reuben sandwich, a patty melt and “a lot of desserts” to name a few.

Special days have prompted special options.

On Cinco de Mayo, the cafe served steak fajitas and tostadas, and for Mother’s Day, the staff provided free flowers for mom as long as the supply of flowers lasted.

“We come up with something different all the time,” Johnson said. “We ask for customer input. If they want something special, we’ll make it up for them. So far everything has sold. We don’t have leftovers at the end of the day.”

Dalke and Johnson are no strangers to the restaurant industry. Dalke worked at Vogts Hometown Market in Hillsboro for 11 years as a part-time cake decorator and helped with lunch in the deli. Johnson has worked for as many years in various eating places in Marion and Harvey counties.

At the Santa Fe Trail Cafe, Bartel manages the cooking and kitchen while Johnson manages the service staff in front.

The duo estimates they have a solid base of some 30 “regulars” during the week.

“We really like the people around here, and we wanted to be there for them,” Dalke said. “They’ve been great to us.”

The Santa Fe Trail Cafe is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday through Friday, as well as Tuesday and Thurs­day mornings. The cafe number is 785-965-2054.

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