Labrador Cafe is now open

The Bilottas’ wedding ceremony thousands of miles away on another continent was by no means the first time the comely couple has done the unexpected. The latest example was when they took over the Garden Gate Café in Chestnut Hill on May 2 of this year, although neither had any experience as a business owner. (In early October they renamed it the Labrador Café.)

Michael, 33, is a native of Northeast Philly, where his dad owned a hairdressing shop, and a graduate of St. Joseph’s Prep and Temple University, with a degree in history. He was a stockbroker for eight years with T.D. Waterhouse until the stock market tanked. For one year he was an executive sales manager for PNC Bank and is currently branch manager for Commerce Bank in Flourtown.

Jennifer, 29, grew up in Bensalem and is an alumna of Bishop Conwell High School and West Chester University, where she majored in communications. After college, she interned at TV Channel 10 with consumer reporter Herb Denenberg. She worked at the station for two years as a production assistant, but left because “it wasn’t for me. I was working the 4 a.m. to noon shift, and I need normal daytime hours.”

Jennifer proceeded to work for one year for the American Diabetes Association and five years for Toplin Public Relations in eastern Montgomery County, working mostly with law firm clients. She and Michael were introduced to each other by a mutual friend, and since their marriage they have lived in Wyndmoor because both were working nearby.

With those backgrounds, you’d think they would no more want to open a coffee shop than a shop that sells 500-year-old wine once consumed by Italian painters and poets. “I spent so much time in a coffee shop when I was going to Temple that I thought about doing this right after college,” explained Michael. You might say the idea percolated for several years.

Then, one day the Bilottas were sitting in Starbucks in Chestnut Hill surrounded by a beehive of customers. “That place is always crowded,” said Michael. “I decided then that Chestnut Hill is big enough for more than just Starbucks. Also, I believe there are lots of people who would prefer to give their business to local residents (than to an impersonal multi-national corporation).”

The Bilottas considered opening a coffee shop near the Temple University campus but found out that Dunkin’ Donuts had a no-compete clause there. Once they decided on Chestnut Hill, it took about a year before they took over the Garden Gate Café, a six-year-old business at 6 E. Hartwell Lane, across the street from Solaris Grille.

After Jennifer and Michael signed a two-year lease on the property, Richard Snowden, managing partner of Bowman Properties, said, “We believe the Bilottas will combine high energy with the sense of community participation that has made the Garden Gate Café a Chestnut Hill tradition.”

Why did the Bilottas then change a name, Garden Gate, that had been in place since 1997? “We’re animal people,” explained Michael. “There used to be a bar on Bainbridge Street called Labrador, and I thought that was a cool name. It really works here; everybody around here loves dogs. I’ve seen five Labs go by today. I used to have a Golden Retriever, but the name Golden Retriever Café just doesn’t work.”

Ironically, the Bilottas have one five-year-old Russian blue cat, Roosevelt, but no dogs. (They hope to fill the regrettable vacuum in the not-too-distant future.) The café has a sunny room in the rear, whose walls are filled with animal paintings by a Bucks County pet portraitist, Mike Geno. Some customers have even brought in their dogs, and dog treats are provided by the Bilottas. (If another customer complains, the dog has to beat a retreat.) One stray cat even came in and made himself at home, obviously knowing animal lovers when he saw them. The owners put the cat outside, but he’d come back in when someone would open the door. Eventually the Bilottas found a good home for the cat with a nearby merchant. There are also lots of adorable stuffed animals in a glass case for sale, and they do not shed.  Jennifer’s uncle, Steve Rittler, a graphic design teacher who formerly worked for the Walt Disney Corporation, designed their Labrador logo. (Michael still has his bank job but works at Labrador on weekends.)

The Bilottas want their place to be known as a coffee shop that does lunch, not a lunch place that does coffee. They do offer terrific lunch dishes, though, prepared by a catering firm called Company’s Coming. I sampled the chicken salad with grapes on a croissant, the egg salad with capers on multigrain bread and the three-bean chili. All awesome. (Interestingly, Jennifer herself does not eat most of the dishes because she is a vegetarian.) All lunches are $6.75 or less.

All coffees, lattés, espressos, cappucinos, mochas, etc., are made with La Colombe beans, top of the line. The teas are Serendipiteas, which one should have to pay for just to smell the perfume-like aromas. There are many other fruit drinks and nectars. All pastries, breads, bagels (like the amazing cherry apple walnut bagel), croissants and muffins (like the one with carrots, zucchini, apple, raisins and sesame seeds) are made by Le Bus.

When I was talking to the Bilottas recently, two customers, Leslie Tolles of Wyndmoor and Mary Campbell (owner of Campbell’s Place in Chestnut Hill), stopped to say how much they enjoyed the food and charm of the new Labrador Cafe, which apparently has no ruff edges at all. Two British ex-pats who live here now also commented, “You know the tea must be good if the Brits are coming here for it.”

Labrador Café opens at 7:30 a.m. seven days a week and closes at 5 on weekdays and 8 on weekends. They will stay open late for Stag and Doe Nights. They can seat 22 inside and 27 outside. For more information, call 215-247-8487 or e-mail jenniferbilotta@yahoo.com  web site coming soon (to a computer near you).