photo: Rusty Ramirez
After 13 years of serving gourmet cuisine in close quarters, Café a la C’art has hit a growth spurt.
The restaurant has increased in size over the last two months, moving from a 95-seat capacity – about 45 inside and 50 on the patio – to more than 140 seats, by expanding into former gallery space held by its landlords, the Tucson Museum of Art.
The café’s original dining room now leads to a hallway with high ceilings, which branches off into five more rooms, each with its own atmosphere and plenty of space to sit and relax. There’s even a brand new entrance leading out to North Main Avenue, in addition to the restaurant’s original museum courtyard entrance, giving the popular spot more exposure to casual passers-by.
That’s good news for downtown regulars who in years past, have battled long lines and jam-packed lunch rushes for a taste of the cafe’s premium sandwiches, salads and desserts.
“We’ve always been hampered by our size,” said Mark Jorbin, who runs the restaurant with his mom, Judith Michelet. “During the summer months, people don’t want to sit outside. Many of our guests are on a time constraint for lunch. They’d see our crowd and we’d see them walk away. We are excited to have this.”
The new rooms complement the changes that have already taken place at the restaurant. Patrons saw one of the first additions, a new eating area toward the north end of the café, more than a year ago. A breakfast service was also added, with an extensive, recently-revamped menu that includes frittatas, pancakes and specialty burritos.
The patio was spruced up with regular live music and a wrap-around springtime mosaic, by local artist Kathy Spain. “Kathy was a dynamo,” Jorbin said. “She did all the work herself, hauled all the material. Her inspiration was ‘Monet’s Garden.’ It has made such a difference.”
By year’s end, Jorbin and Michelet plan on having breakfast and lunch hours on weekends, something Café a la C’art has never tried. “Downtown has historically closed up shop on weekends,” Jorbin said.
“That has been changing. We are seeing so much more traffic down here on Saturdays and Sundays, particularly in the evenings.”
A few months after that, once their liquor license kicks in, they are taking another giant leap; this time into dinner service.'Jorbin said the dinner menu details are still being worked out, but fans of the restaurant will find many of its sandwich and salad options available in the evening, as well as an extensive selection of appetizers and specialty, upscale entrees.
“Our goal is to keep most lunches and dinners at around $10 a plate or under,” Jorbin added. “We want to put out the best food we can, but still make it affordable for guests. I don‘t think food has to be expensive to be good.”
Jorbin hopes the changes will make the restaurant more accessible and will help energize a section of downtown that is generally quieter in the evenings; all while keeping the same friendly attitude and level of quality that has made the café so popular over the years.
“We have been very successful in connecting with our guests and we want to hang onto that,” he said.
Café a la C’art is located at 150 N. Main Ave. Find out more at CafealaCartTucson.com or by calling 628-8533.
