Arber Café, situated in a quaint corner storefront at 6955 Gravois in Princeton Heights, is easy to miss. The tidy storefront previously served as an under-the-radar bakery, ice cream, and coffee shop. Then, last year, owners Limoza and Hysem Hoxha (pictured at right) renovated the restaurant and rolled out a new menu, featuring Albanian and Italian dishes.
The co-owners draw inspiration from a range of Mediterranean countries. The menu includes authentic Albanian specialties and Italian cuisine, as well as soups, salads, gyros, and homemade pastries. Last September, the Hoxhas also added Sunday brunch, with-made-to-order omelets, breakfast sandwiches, quiche, and a sweet-and-savory version of French toast.
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“The bread is soaked in eggs, then griddled and topped with jams that I make myself, feta, and fresh oregano,” says Limoza. “I use a lot of oregano and basil in my food.” (She grows fresh herbs in flower boxes, pots, and tree lawns spring through fall and brings them inside for the winter.)
The house-made yogurt parfait comes in a glass bowl topped with seasonal fruits, almonds, honey, and Limoza’s jam. The winter version features fresh blueberries, golden raisins plumped in a honeyed syrup just sweet enough to balance the tartness of the yogurt.
The coffee and espresso menu is extensive, and the cold-drink menu includes bottled drinks and house-made ayran, a yogurt drink with a salty-minty flavor. “We call it Albanian Coca-Cola, because we did not have Coca-Cola there,” Limoza says.
“We have one dish we make here that isn’t on the menu. Ali Pash is a very popular Albanian rice dish with almonds, golden raisins, and grilled chicken on top. When our regular customers come, they ask for it. They know I will make it for them.”
The light-filled café’s walls are decorated with photos of the owners’ native Albania. A large framed poster, for example, features Berat, where they once lived. “Berat is called ‘the town of a thousand windows,’” Limoza says. “All of the houses on the hills—look at all the windows.”
Before moving to the United States, Limoza worked in a textile mill, and Hysem worked as a mechanic. He points to another poster on the wall, one featuring the Gorica Bridge, which spans the Osum River in Berat. “That bridge is very old,” Hysem says. Political divisions in the country eventually spurred the couple to come to the United States.“We came here in 1997, during a time of trouble in Albania, after the fall of Communism,” says Limoza, noting that their children were just 5 and 6 years old at the time.
“When we came to St. Louis, I had the chance to work at Dominic’s in Clayton for seven years,” she adds. “I learned to make tiramisu and other Italian specialties.”
Today, the couple often welcomes other refugees. “The best thing about the restaurant is that we meet a lot of people,” Hysem says. “Friends come here for coffee and to talk—Albanians love their coffee and desserts.”
As Limoza says, “The café keeps us close to Albania.”
