Our Story

When I was a young girl I would eat supper at a friend’s house and marvel that their vegetables came in a tin can that they bought at a store.  At my house all the fruits and vegetables that we ate came straight from the garden or from one of the glass jars that lined the walls of the basement.  Each summer my mother and I would sweat through the canning process of all the different kinds of produce.   I would ask my dad, “Why can’t we eat fruits and vegetables from the store?”  And he would reply, “They’re no good!  You get to eat real food!”

Now as an adult, I appreciate his wisdom.  My father, Ralph, was a conservationist before it was a popular trend.  His desire was to care for the environment and live off the land as much as possible.  As a forester by profession and a gardener by choice, he set standards in both by his desire to do things well.  Fishing, hunting and gardening were not just hobbies but an intentional lifestyle.  At 94 years of age he shot a deer for meat and tended a quarter acre of garden by himself.  In the spring of 2009, with declining health, Ralph planted his last garden.  When I wondered with my dad about how he would manage the harvest he said, “I just like to see things grow.” 

As a tribute to Ralph, we are planting a “few seeds” in Ralph’s Garden Cafe.  Our mission is to re-connect what is on our dinner plate with our environment by simply and elegantly serving locally grown homemade foods that reflect our rich heritage of Midwest dining. We believe that the food we eat should taste good, that it should be produced in a clean natural way that is free from preservatives, and that local producers should be recognized for their contributions to the process.

What you experience today in this restaurant is just the beginning and we hope you’ll keep coming back, not only because you believe in “real food” but because you also “just like to see things grow.”