Tradition is a way of life at Uncle Loui's café
By TYLER KORBY
DCN Reporter
DULUTH, Minn. — It's early in the morning and the sun has just risen. Though quiet around town, the folks at Uncle Loui's café have already put on their hot pot of coffee, began frying their golden hash browns and flipped some of their famous pancakes.
Though this small café on Fourth Street offers delicious breakfasts to its patrons, there is one item that's not on the menu--tradition.
Tradition is something that Sarah Chambers knows quite well.
For the past six years, Chambers, 66, has walked to this Hillside café nearly every morning to sip on her fresh cup of hot coffee and read her daily newspaper.
“This is my watering hole,� Chambers said.
Chambers, a Hillside resident for the past 30 years, enjoys her traditional coffee and paper. From time to time, she also orders one of the café's classic breakfasts.
“They're food here is great, it's tops,� said Chambers. “They're really known for their breakfast and homestyle cooking.�
Chambers enjoys Uncle Loui's so much that she makes it a point to spread the news to her friends and family.
“I recommend everyone gives it a try,� said Chambers. “It's a neighborhood hit.�
Penny Briddell, 50, is the owner of the small café since its grand opening back on Nov. 2, 1993.
“We make everything with love,� said Briddell. “We're all family.�
Uncle Loui's has a workforce of only eight employees, but they all take extra pride in welcoming its customers each and everyday.
“We're a part of customers' lives,� said John Colt, 24, who is a waiter and has worked at the café for five years. “You don't get that at many places these days.�
Chambers is one of those customers.
“I know the staff by heart, and they know me,� said Chambers. “If I don't show up, they notice.�
Though Uncle Loui's endured a devastating electrical fire that destroyed the building last spring, the blazes didn't come close to torching the café's traditional lifestyle.
The fire was the talk of the community, and many weren't sure if the traditional café was going to be back in business.
But through the rebuilding process, employees worked together day and night on everything from painting the walls to laying the tiles.
“It's way more than just a job,� said Jennifer Fallang, 31, who is a cook and has worked at the café for five years. “We are all very close knit.�
Uncle Loui's café was back in business on Nov. 2, 2007 which just happened to be same exact day it opened 14 years ago.
Just like every morning when Chambers orders her fresh cup of hot coffee and opens up her daily newspaper.
Just like tradition.