By BRIAN SMITH
Trying to promote a restaurant with more of a coffee shop feel, Sunny Street Café has opened a location in Weatherford.
The newest link of the 15 location chain is at 1314 S. Main St. just north of Park. The Bowling family, consisting of father Cliff and brothers Patrick and Daniel, run the operation. Like any good family, they split the chores with Patrick in charge of the front of the house, Daniel the kitchen area and Cliff handles the paperwork as director of operations.
Sunny Street Café opened Dec. 12 but had its official grand opening Jan. 9, Patrick Bowling said. Despite the short time in existence, clientele at the cafe has started to grow, thanks in part to word of mouth and some Facebook promotion.
“Business has been good so far,” Patrick said. “Our lunch crowd has been steady but we’ve seen our breakfast activity pick up.”
Cliff knows a few things about the restaurant industry, having 25 years of experience with McDonald’s. The three men combined have a reported 40 years of restaurant experience and almost that long in military experience, according to the restaurant’s web page. Being a food industry veteran, the three began tossing around the idea of owning a restaurant. Getting a good vibe at the Haltom City location of Sunny Street made the decision that much easier.
“We started looking into owning about a year ago,” Patrick said. “We used to have breakfast there and simply loved the food and atmosphere, so we decided to give it a try.”
The owner of the Haltom City location put them in touch with corporate personnel in Columbus, Ohio. During the 30 days of kitchen training, the small size and family oriented feel of the corporation sealed the deal for the family.
The feel of the restaurant begins when you walk in as the place has a nice, warm ambience to it with a large counter area and friendly greeters making you feel warm and wanted.
“That’s one of the things that we hear from customers is the service is great and that’s what we want,” Patrick said. “They’re just not customers to us and we want to make sure we treat you like family.”
Customers also comment repeatedly, Bowling said, about the quality of food served. Everything is prepared fresh daily, from the fruits for breakfast to the deli meats sliced fresh for lunch.
“Our customers say they notice the difference,” Bowling said.
The menu features some twists on comfort favorites. The stuffed biscuits and gravy is one of the top sellers in the morning, Bowling said. It starts out with the traditional biscuit dough being rolled out and stuffed with sausage, green peppers, onions and cheese.
“We can’t keep up in making them,” Bowling said with a chuckle. “You can only do traditional breakfast so many ways so we like when we can offer something different.”
Bowling said the breakfast quesadilla is also very popular. Breakfast is served all day as is lunch, Cliff Bowling said.
“You can get a sandwich here at 6:30 a.m. if that’s what you want,” Cliff Bowling said. “We aim to please.”
For lunch, the southwest turkey club and french onion soup is popular. Lunch combos are offered as are such standard lunch fare as burgers and salads.
Patrick Bowling said many gluten free options are available with lighter offerings being very popular with today’s more health conscious society.
The café also offers a 28-seat meeting room, an outdoor patio and free wi-fi. Sunny Street Café is open every day from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
For more information, call 817-594-2210.
Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro
Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister
First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge
Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion
Reunited Dad, Son: 'We Just Praise God'
Slow Pokes: Acupuncture Helps Sick Turtles
Moore, Okla. City of Reunions, Tears After Storm
Former IRS Chief: Can't Say How List Happened
Gov. Fallin: Okla. Facing Horrific Disaster
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting
AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out
Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado
Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado
OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded
Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims
Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma
