The Cozy Cafe lives up to its name with warm, homey feel
When diners come in to The Cozy Cafe in the West End, they might feel like they're entering the owners' living room, and enjoying home-cooked meals from their kitchen.
"To us, it's like our house," says chef and owner Adrian Hensley, 34. "We're giving up our kitchen to people."
Lindsay Mobrey, who does much of the eatery's serving and managing, says that the warm -- and, yes, cozy -- cafe, with its burnt-orange walls, has a calming effect on the often-regular customers.
"Even when they're stressed, they get laid back when they come here," says Mobrey, 30. She and Hensley live in Oakdale with their kids: Tiley, 6, and Carson, 4. "The people here are unbelievable. They're just like family now."
The Cozy Cafe opened on the West End's Main Street on March 1 in the space that used to be Sue's Cozy Corner Cafe. Hensley and Mobrey asked neighbors around the West End about what they are looking for in an eatery, so they could tailor their restaurant to customers' preferences.
"They wanted homemade, and they wanted fresh, but at a low price," Mobrey says. "They want healthy, too.
"They don't want to spend $50 for lunch, especially in this economy," she says.
The menu features breakfast and lunch, often with an Italian accent, such as the Tuscan chicken sandwich and the homemade meatball sandwich on Italian bread, which is a bestseller. Every lunch dish, which includes a side, costs $7.50, except for salads, which are $9. Another bestselling lunch item is the Reuben, with lean corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and homemade Russian dressing on marble rye from the North Side's Breadworks -- the purveyor of all the cafe's bread.
Breakfast dishes, including vanilla pancakes and a vanilla waffle, cost up to $6.50. The Cozy Cafe offers vegetarian options, like a mushroom and feta dish on wheat bread and salads. Hensley usually offers a weekly special, like a specialty pizza or sloppy joes. A morning favorite is the West End Breakfast Burrito, with two eggs, cheddar cheese, salsa, lettuce and tomatoes in a wrap ($4.50; $5 to add potatoes). The Cozy Cafe offers mostly homemade desserts like pumpkin and apple pies, and chocolate cake.
A strong core of regular diners -- primarily from the neighborhood, and areas like Green Tree and Crafton -- has been growing since the cafe opened, Hensley says. They like the personal touch on food, which, he says, is important.
"You have to love what you're doing," Hensley says. "Put a little love into it."
Additional Information:
The Cozy Cafe
Location: 400 S. Main St., West End
Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays
Details: 412-920-1622 or www.thecozycafe.net
