Exploring Life & Business with Alicia Gualco of Ames Street Cafe

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alicia Gualco.

Hi Alicia, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I never thought I would own a restaurant, but here we are. I would consider myself a Jill of all trades… I’ve worked in sales, and healthcare, managed horse farms, nannied, and painted houses for a summer, and somehow I always came back to food. During COVID-19, I was waiting tables after working a few years in a kitchen that totally burned me out.

I started dreaming about a food truck, about having some sort of control over my own schedule and how I spent my time. I come from a long line of entrepreneurs, my maternal grandfather ran the concession stand at Clinch Park Zoo, and in a way, I consider him an original food truck owner of our area. Both my parents owned their own businesses, including my Dad’s cheese shop which to this day I wish I had fought harder to purchase when he sold.

Working for other restaurant owners, most of whom were never there to see how their businesses functioned on the day-to-day, was getting old. I was dreaming about the food truck all the time, I joke that I spoke it into existence. My mom found the trailer on Facebook marketplace, and my dad did the build-out which really just consisted of putting in a few sinks. The truck was very bare bones and I am so proud of the food we put out with minimal equipment and investment.

When we submitted our SOPs for Alley Cat’s… I had written a menu specifically for a venue that had a food truck already. It just happened to be my “luck” that they pulled out and I got started at the most fairy tale location I could have dreamt up, Townline Ciderworks. The truck was parked practically in the orchard, and I had access to grown on-site produce daily right at the base of the driveway at Altonen Fruit Stand.

The Altonens were terribly kind to me and went to great lengths to help me get started. When the season ended I served small plates out of their closet. During the closet days, I was very lucky to get a short-term spot that turned into a very successful summer at Short’s Pull Barn in Elk Rapids. The Shorts inspire me, Leah started their kitchen with nothing but a toaster oven. They also were very kind to me, giving me an incredible spot to park in the village really helped develop our following.

The summer was a huge success and it was apparent that we had outgrown our little jalopy food truck. I started poking around for storage solutions when a friend suggested I approach the owner of the Local, a breakfast restaurant around the corner. There had been a for sale sign outside for several years, and when I realized the terms, we jumped on it. The building was in need of some love, and my crew got to it cleaning and painting and putting our spin on the space with the little money I had.

I am a pretty thrifty gal and most everything in the space, which is decorated mostly with mirrors and plants, is thrifted or from Landon’s grandmothers. We love old, eclectic crap. I didn’t have the funds for branded mugs, so we thrifted some and put out a PSA to donate mugs to the cafe. To this day, we get mug drop-offs and our mug collection is pretty cool. It’s transitioned into the plates also and most everything is mismatched, just how I like it!

Just a few months after we opened, I reconnected with Landon, my dreamboat. Landon comes from a hospitality background, his great grandma Mary Louise “Meemaw” Morse founded Brownwood Acres… an early example of agritourism with a rich legacy. We are continually inspired by the work ethics + standards of our ancestors before us.

Landon had no real cooking experience but is an athlete in every sense of the word and rose to the occasion and we now cook side by side most days on the line at the cafe. I always dreamed of finding a partner who was supportive of my dreams, but Landon really takes the cake and is just as dedicated to daily operations as my mom and I.

I’ve been very lucky to have incredible help from both my parents, my dad lives out of the country but he was here for our first year and helped with every catering, event, he even played Santa once. My mom also known as “KJ” has done all the baking, and is living proof you don’t need classical training to be a top-notch pastry chef. I love watching people scramble for her last cookies!

We have employees who have been with us practically from day 1, and I truly couldn’t do it without my team. We do things a little differently, everyone helps and is trained in all positions. My hope was that more people felt similarly… they wanted a boss who would listen to them, and be open to their suggestions.

Luckily, I was right and for the most part, we haven’t encountered the staffing issues I hear of other businesses having. As we approach our second summer, I am feeling very empowered about where we are going as a cafe. Our commitment to homemade is fierce, and our team is strong. We are working with many local companies to stock their products, and that feels good.

I’m not a trained chef, I’m just a gal who saw a need for good homemade food in a small community. I think the world is growing more complicated all the time, and food keeps me grounded. It’s a commonality we share, to be able to sit down and share a meal. We hope to be feeding people for many more years.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Every challenge has been met with growth, so I really couldn’t call it a struggle. I have Lyme disease, and my symptoms have been a bit more recurrent in the last 6 months, so I have had to rely more on my staff. It’s been a reason to take better care of myself and to close 2 days a week. We also opened a different concept in a building that was a previous breakfast/lunch restaurant in a small town.

Having people grasp that, was tricky at first. I am a pretty gritty gal though, with solid boundaries, and while I am sure we lost some customers, we gained many loyal regulars who love OUR food. Retraining people on having a smaller menu was difficult, and educating them on homemade principles.

When we are out of sausage gravy for the day, we are out, because it isn’t something that comes from a bag that we simply heat. I myself am not a fan of large menus, I always want the emphasis to be on the quality of ingredients. We grate all our own cheese, we prep each and every loaf of focaccia. I bought the building in September, and we opened in November.

It was hard to prepare for summer without truly having done it before, and we look forward to executing this summer with excellence. The summer we opened, the only other sit-down breakfast restaurant closed. We had a line out the door most days, all summer, which can be a burnout. Now, we have a clear game plan.

We’ve been impressed with Ames Street Cafe, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are an all-day cafe, operated by friends and family who are committed to serving you thoughtfully sourced + intentionally prepared foods. We also have a smaller to-go menu to order from online, as well as grab-and-go options in our coolers daily. We have both gluten-free and vegan options and aim to be a spot for every buddy.

Our pastry case is always stocked with delicious made-from-scratch family recipe cookies + baked goods. We proudly carry Panther Coffee fair trade beans roasted in small batches in Traverse City. We aim for the cafe to be a cozy + inclusive space for all, and to spread love + kindness in the form of food & hospitality.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Please, come eat! Instagram + Facebook are the best places to follow along for special events, including collaborations with our next-door neighbors Bos Wine. We plan to do some patio weather collabs with them, so be on the lookout for dates!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @ames_street_cafe
• Facebook: @Ames Street Cafe

Image Credits
Courtney Kent