A Little About Us

The California Café opened its doors in 1984 at 127 South Hanover Street in Carlisle. The new restaurant occupied a highly visible but dark and charmless location, and featured colorful lunches and a short prix-fixe dinner menu that changed daily.

It was love at first sight between Carlisle and the Café. Soon, the good people of Carlisle couldn't get enough freshly baked French rolls, aromatic paté and crème caramel. After 3 years, just as the original garden chairs were starting to break down en masse, original owners Tom and Oliver were able to move the restaurant to more engaging quarters.

In 1988, the CALIFORNIA CAFÉ relocated in adjoining townhouses at 48-52 West Pomfret Street. Cosy dining rooms and  a full liquor license were added attractions. 

However, the kitchen facilities were progressively overwhelmed by the increased business and some of the solutions to storage problems wouldn't have been out of place in a French farce.

When the Empire, Hook and Ladder vacated the firehouse next door, Tom and Oliver realized that, within that large structure, an attractive dining area could be achieved concurrently with a spacious and functional kitchen.The work started on the firehouse in the fall of 1996. The Café was only closed for 2 weeks and reopened in the former firehouse in April 1997. 

Among the dedicated California Café crew that assembled after the move to the firehouse, there was a talented and ambitious young chef named Gregory Clark. After studying for years what makes the California Café such an institution in Carlisle, Greg and his mother-in-law, Darlene Seitz, bought the Café from Tom and Oliver in May, 2005. Darlene and Greg intend to keep serving the good people of Carlisle for a long, long time, and offer them the great food and friendly atmosphere they deserve.

A Little About You ( a reverse suggestion box )

We will do all that is possible to please you during your time with us. Many of you have been so kind to us for such a long time that we are terribly afraid of disappointing you. Sometimes we envy restaurants at, say, Niagara Falls, where the commitment is short-lived and the crowd always renewed. The familiar and welcome faces that we see week after week mean that we have to always do better than the day before.

Here is what you can do to help:

• If something is wrong, tell us right away. We'll do our best to fix it.
   
• If you are time constrained, or in a leisurely and contemplative mood, tell your server. Weekday lunches have taught us to rush, rush, rush, and while many people appreciate it these days, not everyone does.
  
  
• If you like it busy and bustling, come on Fridays and Saturdays around 7:00.  If you like it calmer or you need extra-special attention, come earlier, or later, or on a weeknight. Similarly, special requests can be more easily accommodated by the kitchen during off-peak hours. 
  
  
• Please make a reservation. It will not only ensure a table for you, but it helps us predict the size of the serving staff on a particular day. Call us with changes in your plans, especially with cancellations or with increases in the size of your party. If you request a special table, we will do all that is possible to have it available for you. On some nights, assigning tables constitutes a veritable chess game. We ask you to trust us as we balance the amount of tables a server has. The balancing act is what provides you better service.  Specific wishes about tables are much more likely to happen if reservations are made well in advance.
  
  
• If you place a take-out order, remember it will take us as long to prepare as if you were sitting at a table. So, if you're treating the whole office to lunch, give us plenty of time to prepare the goodies.