After 15 years running South Park’s beloved Café Madeleine, founder Christine Perez finally feels like she’s got everything under control.
“For a long time, I want to say I really didn’t know what I was doing,” she laughs. “I really kind of embraced this idea, I think, at one point where I’m like, ‘It’s okay that I don’t know. I’m just going to put my arms open and learn.’ When I gave myself that grace, it was a big learning jump for me.”
Before opening Café Madeleine in South Park in 2010 and a second location in North Park in 2015, Perez worked in education. Extensive travel through Europe, particularly southern France, sparked a desire to replicate European cafe culture here in San Diego.
At the time, restaurant culture was quieter in South Park, where she raised her family. But it was her neighborhood, and even as zany alien speakeasies descended and the Food Network showed up, her corner cafe became a cornerstone of the community.
Founder Christine Perez
But Perez always knew she wanted to keep going, and had her eye on a few locations for number three. She thought about North County, but no place ever felt quite right. Then, a South Park regular who was an architect working on the Los Patios building in Barrio Logan, suggested she look there.
Madeleine isn’t a replica of the first two locations. Its menu features a fusion of Latin and French-inspired daytime eats, mixing her experience and passion for French bistros and her Mexican-American heritage. Some fan favorites are still on the menu, like eggs benedict, Nutella crepes, a few paninis, and the Madeleine BLT sandwich. But the pared-down menu will also include some Latin twists on breakfast classics.
“For instance, we took a croque monsieur and added a chorizo sausage,” she says, adding they’re playing with alternatives like Oaxacan and Manchego cheeses. A few new drinks will make their debut as well, like a mole espresso drink that will serve as the location’s take on mocha. “We have a couple surprises up our sleeve,” Perez promises. (And yes, there’s beer and wine.)
Madeleine is currently open, with a grand opening party on June 25 (8 a.m.-4 p.m.). Perez isn’t stopping here, either—in August, she’s taking over the small coffee stand space inside the County Building at Waterfront Park as a grab-and-go coffee stall. And, she adds, she’s always got her eye open for whatever the universe presents to her next, despite the challenges of operating in today’s inhospitable hospitality sector.
“You can always sell a cup of coffee—that’s not the hard part,” she says. “I’m trying to create that cafe vibe, that cafe lifestyle, where it’s okay to sit down and take a rest and experience a moment for yourself or with a friend… I’m grateful for the opportunity to do this.”
Madeleine is now open at 1776 National Avenue daily from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events
Chef Budda Blasian Soul Food Just Opened Their First Brick & Mortar
It’s been a whirlwind few years for Michael “Chef Budda” Price and Lily Nachampasak. Price grew up in the kitchen, watching everyone in his family cook Southern-style Texas cuisine. “It just stuck with me, and something that I always did,” he says. During the pandemic, he spent the time cooking as much as he could, giving it away to friends and family until Nachampasak got him a fryer and said they should give professional cooking a real shot. Chef Budda Blasian Soul Food was born as a food truck, and almost immediately “business just kept growing and growing,” says Nachampasak.
This week, the pair opened their first brick and mortar location at 1960 54th Street in Oak Park. The Asian-soul food fusion menu still offers classics like chicken wings, catfish, and mac and cheese, but Price says they plan on adding more items to the menu once they get used to the new space. They haven’t planned a grand opening party yet, but hope to announce one soon. In the meantime, Price says he’s just excited to see the new chapter in their story and keep serving their fans from San Diego and beyond.
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Beth’s Bites
- San Diego may have been shut out of this year’s James Beard Foundation awards, but chef Tara Monsod (Animae, Le Coq) is still the best chef of our hearts.
- Yes, I’m judgemental, but I’m allowed to be when I’m judging a spirits competition! Join me at Happy Medium on Monday, June 23 for the Bartender Brawl with Club Kokomo Spirits (yes, that Kokomo). I’ll be the one giving off good vibrations from the judge’s area, a.k.a. the bar.
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