A First Look at Benton Park Cafe’s New Digs

Benton Park Cafe’s epic six-day turn-around move to its new digs three blocks away at the corner of Pestalozzi and Salena speaks volumes for its owner, managers, and employees. “Today was a great day,” owner Jessica Lenzen (right) says. “I slept well last night, we opened and I delivered a standing catering order for a regular lunch gig today. Yeah! We only missed one week with this good customer.”

Lenzen credits her entire staff, including kitchen manager Bryant Whitley and front of house manager Becky Johnson, with creating calm out of chaos so quickly. Lenzen asked her staff what would work best for them – make the move themselves or hire a mover? “They chose to move things themselves. Nothing was lost and they knew where everything was. We tweaked things a little and opened.”

Now that’s saying something.

Here’s the skinny on the move. The menu, thankfully, is the same. The new space, formerly Jax Cafe, has an easy elegance that enchants rather than intimidates: credit the exposed brick walls, dark wide-planked floors, and oversized windows that let in a gorgeous light.

Two large rooms, one with a bar, flow comfortably into one another with seating for 60, which includes 12 seats at the bar. “We gained seats inside, but lost seating on the sidewalk,” Lenzen says. “I have four tables to put out on the side, but on November first, who knew outside seating would be an option?”

Next year, outside and inside seating will increase. “We’ll be taking out a wall here,” Lenzen says, gesturing to the back, “and add more tables inside. Our next step is to build a covered patio in the back – but that’s a spring project."

The cafe also plans to serve dinner beginning in spring, extending its hours and its menu selections. That’s good news for patrons of the little cafe that started nine years ago on the corner of Arsenal and Lemp, across the street from Gus’ Pretzels. BPC is known for its great breakfasts, which are served all day, including egg-centric pizzas, burritos, and sandwiches in addition to the omelets, scramble, and the over-easy breakfasts.

My experiences had previously been of the breakfast variety, but at nearly two in the afternoon, I was ready for a lunch and so was my friend. We ordered two of the most popular sandwiches on the menu entirely by happenstance – the grilled chicken club (above) and the chicken salad sandwich (below).

Our server explained the chicken salad had a sweetness to it with the addition of grapes and apple chunks. “Now if you like mushrooms and bacon, the grilled chicken club is the way to go,” he said. That little interchange told me a lot about service at the BPC: They want their customers to enjoy the food.

Here's some trivia about that shiny bar top... There’s $300 dollars and change – 17 cents to be exact – in copper pennies glued to the bar in a dazzling pattern, covered with a clear smooth coating.  “We have beer, drinks, and great coffee cocktails," Lenzen says. "And on Saturdays and Sundays we have Bloody Marys and mimosas for just four dollars.”

As much as I loved visiting the old Benton Park Cafe, the disjointed spaces didn’t really flow all that well. The ambient noise of heavy traffic, horns honking, highway noise, and the congestion of the Arsenal and Lemp intersection sometimes took its toll on my psyche. When I looked out the stunning windows, I saw trees, old brick homes, and all I heard was quiet. Good move on all counts.