Loyal customers of Karl’s Place Cafe on Baldwin Road will have to suffer through the winter without their favorite dining spot, but the wait will have been worth it when the expanded restaurant reopens in the spring.
Owners Karl and Joan Eberle, who have owned the restaurant for nearly 20 years, closed their doors in November, with plans to reopen in spring of 2004 after their expansion is complete. The restaurant will go from seating for 20 to seating for 60, and the Eberles also plan to expand their hours.
“We are going to keep it family style, with breakfast, lunch and dinner, and smoke-free,” said Karl. “We want to keep it reasonably priced for families.”
The building that houses Karl’s Place Cafe was a former “Misty’s” location, built in the 1950’s, and made into a “Crazy Cone,” when initially purchased by the Eberles.
“We’re the last of a dying breed because we’re still a mom and pop operation,” said Karl, a former executive chef for Hilton Hotels. “The Baldwin area is growing and we basically needed a new building, or we had to get out of Dodge.”
Karl said despite the growing number of restaurants in the area around Great Lakes Crossing Mall, he believes there is “plenty of business out here for everyone.”
“We have a great following and a good customer base out here. Great people,” he said.
Joan said her husband tries to accommodate his customers’ personal tastes, and that he knows just about everyone that comes in by name.
“When they walk in, Karl knows their name and something about their kids,” she said.
“I introduce everybody to everybody…there’s been a lot of great deals done here,” said Karl.
The new Karl’s Place Cafe will feature more variety on the breakfast and lunch menus, including fresh soups made every day. Karl will continue to offer customer favorites, like his half-pound burgers made fresh.
Karl’s will also be expanding their ice cream selections, doubling their current flavor choices.
“We’ll literally have 100s of flavors,” promised Joan.
After working for Hilton Hotels, Karl, a Warren, Ohio native, started his own catering business which eventually blossomed into cafeterias and doing lunches for programs like Head Start.
“My wife was a nurse,” Karl said. “We used to drive by this place when Misty used to own it. I thought I was so crazy for buying it that I called it ‘Crazy Cones.’ Both my girls worked in here through high school and college.”
The new restaurant will have an old-fashioned ice cream parlor theme, and Joan said customers have already given them things to decorate the walls with.
“They’ve given us gifts and best wishes,” she said.
“They’re all like family. We go to church (Christ the Redeemer) with a lot of these people out here,” said Karl.
Karl’s Place Cafe plans to reopen with their expanded restaurant by May 1, 2004. The restaurant is located at 403 Baldwin Road, and the phone number is 391-2711.