Feel Good Friday: Ida's Cafe, Lancaster PA

My wife and I spent a long weekend in Lancaster one year to celebrate Valentine’s Day because we had visited briefly and enjoyed it so much that we wanted to explore it further. During our stay, we had the opportunity to visit plenty of interesting places and try phenomenal food, but one experience that stands out is when we grabbed breakfast at Ida’s Cafe.

Housed in an unassuming building in what looks like a small strip mall, it’s easy to overlook Ida’s Cafe from the outside, but once you enter, it becomes clear why it’s considered a beloved place by locals and visitors alike.

The family-owned business got its start in 2008, and was named after James Nudy’s grandmother, who inspired his love of cooking and passion for food. The restaurant is designed with that love of family and connection through cooking by forgoing trendy decor or novelty for an unassuming set-up that allows you to enjoy what the menu has to offer.

Ida’s Cafe doesn’t really have a specialty beyond breakfast and lunch options, because you get the sense that the Nudy family wants to make it feel like an extension of a home kitchen.

From traditional breakfast favorites like eggs Benedict to fusion dishes incorporating Mexican and French twists on U.S. classics, there’s an opportunity for anyone with a brunch craving to get it satisfied by what’s on offer at Ida’s.

Going out to eat often means crowding into spaces filled with people, conversation and music, which can make it challenging for anyone to really connect with their loved ones if they don’t have a mind to shout over the din. However, Ida’s Cafe takes the opposite approach, by maximizing the space for the goal of enjoying the experience of catching up with loved ones.

The decor is simple and the floor space isn’t crowded with tables and chairs to accommodate the maximum amount of customers. Instead, they provide plenty of elbow room for patrons and easy byways to navigate the dining room without needing to shout an apology for bumping into someone on your way to the bathroom.

The last thing to note about Ida’s is its owners don’t focus on trying to speed people out the door if they aren’t ready yet. While it’s always common courtesy in the U.S. to try to free up the table as quickly as possible so the staff can keep their day moving, there was no sense of pressure from the Ida’s Cafe staff that a little extra conversation after the bill was paid was unwelcome.

It’s a small thing, but when coupled with the extra space, it helps make a family owned business feel like somewhere you want to come back to for a comforting meal and community.

There are a few unique lessons I found in observing the operation of Ida’s Cafe which deviate from some of the other lessons covered in the Feel Good Friday series. For example, the size of the space, the open floor plan, and the low-key culture of the business all combine to create a compelling brand that the community is willing to invest in.

Anyone in the hospitality industry knows that every square foot matters when operating a profitable business. As noted already, that usually translates to more seats in the front of house to ensure that more paying customers have an opportunity to enjoy the space and fill the till, but with Ida’s Cafe, the real estate works to promote enjoyment rather than revenue, which means they had to get creative about where to cut back.

Based on the layout and what could be observed, it looks like Ida’s Cafe runs off a condensed galley kitchen, which is set up in a way that one or two people could quickly turn around customer orders. Given the breadth of the menu, it may seem difficult to imagine, but Nudy and his team have accomplished this by working to adjust the traditional cooking workflow so that no movement gets wasted in the process.

That dedication to prioritizing the customer by cutting back on what might be more comfortable for the cook is a unique approach to right-sizing the real estate for a restaurant.

Hospitality businesses stand out based on their customer experience, and while Ida’s Cafe does a phenomenal job of that already by providing sufficient space for its patrons, it goes a step further by situating seating directly in the line of sight of staff members. While this means the decor may be sparser than competitors, it also means that the team is immediately aware when a customer’s coffee cup might run low or their orders haven’t come through yet. This responsiveness to the customer helps distinguish Ida’s Cafe among the many options for brunch.

Profits rise and fall with how quickly customers pay their bill and open seating for the next party, and that’s usually why there are time limits — formal or informal — at most restaurants in the U.S. Given the open floor plan and other elements of Ida’s, it would be unsurprising if they implemented something that would limit the time that patrons spent at their tables, but that’s not what they do.

Rather than rushing customers through their meal or keeping the custom of nudging patrons once they’re finished, the Ida’s Cafe staff still check in to make sure you don’t need anything, which helps leave an impression that you’re more than just a customer to them; you’re part of the family that welcomes anyone who walks through their doors.

Ida’s Cafe is a unique place for a variety of reasons already discussed, but it’s another cut above because it manages all this at a price point that’s accessible to most people. Given the expense of running a restaurant, most operators limit the menu, cut hospitality corners, or try to make it up in volume, and they provide perfectly enjoyable service in the process. But when you come across a place like Ida’s Cafe, it’s a striking reminder you don’t need to prioritize profit to make a living; you can brand yourself in a way that highlights the value you bring to others, and that will ensure you can keep your doors open.

However, if you do find yourself in Lancaster and are just looking for a great breakfast, Ida’s Cafe has a phenomenal selection of French toast to enjoy.