Owners: Amanda and Jason Hayden of Belden
Where: 212 W. Main St., downtown Tupelo
When: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Info: Call (662) 844-6323
BY GINNA PARSONS
Daily Journal
TUPELO - Amanda Hayden never really saw herself in the restaurant business. After graduating from Tupelo High School and spending a couple of years at Northeast Mississippi Community College, Hayden was leaning toward photography - sort of.
"I was a liberal arts major, but I didn't know what I wanted to do really," she said. "So I got on a plane for Europe. I didn't know what I was going to do or where I was going to live."
After eight months, Hayden came back home to Tupelo and went to work part time for her cousin, Robin Walton, who operated Yummy Yogurt sandwich shop. When Walton decided to open Yummy Too in downtown Tupelo, Hayden became that store's manager.
"I ! love food. I've always loved food. I love eating food," said Hayden. "When I started working for Robin, I found it was actually something I was pretty good at."
Walton eventually decided to give all her attention to her original sandwich shop now located on Industrial Road, which afforded Hayden the opportunity to take over the downtown business, which she renamed Cafe 212, because it's located at 212 W. Main St.
"When I was at Yummy Too, I started experimenting with different sandwiches," Hayden said. "I came up with the recipes myself and tried them out on people, then adjusted them."
All the "Feature Presentation" sandwiches are names after movies, because Hayden is also a movie buff.
"The Italian Job" features roast beef, mayo, spicy mustard, roasted red peppers, Swiss cheese and caramelized onions grilled on rustic bread; and "Casablanca" Club has turkey, ham, bacon, to! mato, mayo, Dijon mustard and Colby cheese grilled on sourdoug! h bread; and "Moonstruck" Mushroom Grill is turkey, portobello mushrooms, pesto mayonnaise, alfalfa sprouts and Mozzarella cheese grilled on sourdough bread.
"People are afraid of alfalfa sprouts, but once they try them, they like them," Hayden said. "I have to stop myself from putting them on everything."
Fresh, fresh, fresh
But Hayden isn't in this business alone. Her husband of three years, Jason, helps in the cafe's coffee shop every morning before heading off to his "real" job as an assistant manager for Radio Shack. He is also in charge of buying produce for the cafe daily.
"The freshness of the salads is a direct reflection on me," Jason Hayden said. "Everything has to be really fresh. I'm extremely picky."
His wife concurred.
"Jason is probably the pickiest customer we have," she said, smiling at her husband.
The cafe serves a garden salad, ch! ef salad, tuna salad and two different chicken salads - one with apples and walnuts and one that's savory.
"We started off with recipes from a friend, and Mom and I tweaked them until we found something we loved," said Hayden, daughter of Charlotte and William Riley of Belden.
The chicken salad can be served in a sandwich or on a bed of greens or you can purchase it by the pint or quart. In fact, you can also purchase three different sizes of Charlotte Riley's chicken casseroles, homemade potato or tomato soup and Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Pie at the cafe as well.
"Usually by the end of the day all the casseroles are gone," Hayden said.
Coffee bar up, running
The Haydens took over the downtown eatery, which can seat 50, in April 2006, and this past October, they expanded, adding a coffee bar to the set-up, at Jason Hayden's urging. Beverages include mochas, cappuccinos, expressos, macchiatos and lattes! , and such breakfast fare as homemade cream cheese danishes, s! ausage a nd cream cheese croissants, muffins, bagels and breakfast bars.
"The coffee shop has been a little slow going, because people don't know we're here," said Jason Hayden, son of Durick and Debbie Hayden of Tupelo. "But the people who have found us keep coming back."
Right now, the couple has no plans to expand any further.
"When I started owning the place, I was 26," said Hayden, her red pigtails bobbing as she spoke. "I think I might have been the youngest restaurant owner in town. And I have all that I want for right now, all I can handle. I like our small, intimate place. It has a lot of character."
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Source: http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=260992&pub=1&div=Lifestyles
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