Interview with owners Gary and Marcella Taylor
Rapid River Magazine: I’m sitting here this morning with Gary and Marcella Taylor, the owners of Asheville’s Cafe 64. First of all, I would like to congratulate both of you on the one year anniversary of your cafe. That seems to be an important benchmark in the restaurant industry, so tell me, how did the first year go for you?
Gary Taylor: Well Dennis it’s been an educational year for both of us. We’ve spent a lot of time working with our team and vendors to create the best possible experience for our customers. We’ve worked with our head chef Randy Boyd to maintain a well balanced menu that offers a variety of healthy options for everyone.
Marcella Taylor: Yeah, our goal is to offer great food that’s healthy, affordable and quick from kitchen to table. Everything we serve is hand prepared to order and many of our customers are regulars so consistency is very important.
GT: We also spent a lot of time and energy redoing the kitchen, adding a more efficient ventilation system and relocating some of the appliances to improve the work flow. We also just finished a facelift in front of the house so we think we’re in really good shape to start off the second year.
RRM: Wow that sounds great. So, what are some of your most popular breakfast and lunch items?
GT: The Huevos Rancherous and Skillet are certainly two of our most popular breakfast items and of course the Salmon Scramble is very popular as well. For lunch I would have to say the Tempeh Avocado Sandwich and Walnut Crusted Goat Cheese Salad get very high ratings.
MT: All of those are great meals. My favorite breakfast is the Cafe 64 with a couple slices of our super thick bacon and of course I’m totally addicted to our lattes.
RRM: Yes, you’ve always been known for great coffee and tea. So do you have any other changes in store for the immediate future?
GT: Yes there are a few goals we would like to achieve in the months ahead. We would love to round out our menu by adding beer and wine along with a variety of revolving specials. And of course evening hours with a limited menu is something we’re talking about.
MT: We would like Cafe 64 to continue being a vital part of the downtown Asheville scene offering good morning, midday and evening dining.
RRM: Well thanks so much for giving me the scope on Cafe 64. It sounds like you have some great things in store and I would like to wish you the best of luck.
Cafe 64
64 Haywood Street, Downtown Asheville
828-252-8333, www.cafe-64.com
