New Hope’s Papa’s Café Offers Up Large Portions of Delicious Food
Breakfast is considered by many as the most important meal of the day, and for more than 20 years, Doug Staricha has been serving up large portions of delicious food to a loyal base of customers.
“I have people I see twice a day sometimes, everyday,” Staricha said. “How do you not love that?”
Staricha is the longtime owner of Papa’s Cafe. It’s a small restaurant in New Hope — mainly specializing in breakfast food — that’s been in the family since 1994.
“My parents bought this said, ‘hey do you want to cook?’ I’m like, ‘yeah I can do that,’” Staricha said. “I mean I bartended, bused tables when I was younger. So I’m like yeah, I think I can give it a shot. Here I am 20-something years later.”
When you run a restaurant for that long, it’s easy to develop relationships with the regulars.
“It feels like ‘Cheers,’” said Charlie Melsha, a customer.
Papa’s Cafe specializes in breakfast food.
Melsha is one of the many people who come in week after week to enjoy a meal served by a group of friendly and familiar faces.
“It’s down to earth. We love the waitresses,” Melsha said. “You’ve got Erin, Laura and Becky. The service, I come in every Thursday night and one of them is here.”
Yet the service only tells part of the story. This New Hope diner is a go-to spot because customers can enjoy a tasty meal for a good price.
It also doesn’t hurt that Papa’s make the claim of having the best pancakes around.
“Lots of sugar, buttermilk, sugar really,” Staricha said of the pancakes. “It’s just the high sugar content and knowing how to cook ’em.”
Good food, an old-school feel and a family-like atmosphere that customers say you won’t find at a chain is what keeps people coming back for more.
“Yeah, this beats chain restaurants all to heck,” Melsha said. “And they need more of them.”
While the menu remains standard during the week, Staricha says he likes to get creative on weekends and offer specials with locally-sourced ingredients.
Papa’s Cafe is located at 7181 42nd Ave N New Hope, MN 55427
