For anyone having cravings for more than one style of cuisine, there’s a new restaurant in town which will cater to a variety of tastes. On Monday, Sept. 14, Plant City Café will have its grand opening. The menu is full of Italian, Greek and Cuban fare.
The eatery will be located in the Village strip mall, near the Walden Lake entrance on Alexander Street. It has been in the planning stages for about 10 months, with the staff often working 12 hour days.
After the grand opening in mid-September, Plant City Café will be open seven days a week. Customers will be served as early as 7 a.m. on all days except Sunday. While customers dine, they can enjoy watching news and sports as the managers stop to visit their table — just one of the personal touches that Manager Gary McFadden said is lacking at other locations in the area.
“We want to be that family restaurant for people,” Gary McFadden said. “We want people to come in and feel like part of the family.”
Gary McFadden and his wife, Melissa McFadden, make up the backbone of the restaurant’s management team, with Gary McFadden as manager and Melissa McFadden as assistant manager.
The restaurant can cater to the pickiest of eaters. As customers arrive, they can choose a protein, vegetable and rice from a buffet-style hot line outside of the kitchen, or order off the extensive menu.
Besides a wide range of food choices, including everything from pizza and wings, to tacos, gyros and picadillo, Plant City Café will also serve breakfast items, frappes and smoothies.
Takeout, delivery and catering are also available, as well as private parties.
“The extra variety, it gives people more options,” Gary McFadden said. “Offering seven days a week is more convenient for people.”
Gary McFadden has worked in the food service industry for 22 years. He has been a department manager at McDonald’s and has always held management positions.
Originally from Connecticut, the Plant City resident began learning how to cook traditional Italian dishes from a chef at Mario Macaroni when he was 14.
Melissa McFadden, also has three years of restaurant experience on the customer service side.
Melissa McFadden will be learning alongside the other employees, which include about 12 cooks. The restaurant has 22 employees total.
As for Gary McFadden, he said he can do it all.
“I’ve been doing it for a long time,” he said. “If I worked with people of other cultures, I learned how to make their food.”
The restaurant will be having two private soft openings before the grand opening on Sept. 14.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
IF YOU GO
Plant City Café
Opening: Monday, Sept. 14
Where: 1701 S. Alexander St., Plant City
Hours: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday
7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday
8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday
Fare: Cuban, Italian and Greek