Coming up Rosie’s
Business is blooming at a neighborhood favorite
There’s something to be said about cafes. They tend to evoke an intimate feeling unmatched by any other eatery. At most cafes, you can count on a generously portioned meal, accompanied by friendly, no- frills service that gives you peace to engage in the morning paper or deep conversation over coffee and hot- pressed sandwiches.
American cinema has even paid homage to these quaint spaces. Many times, they’re the setting of a most quoted or telling part of a movie. For instance, the introduction and ending of the 1994 cult classic Pulp Fiction takes place in an unassuming cafe, and who can forget the scene in When Harry
Met Sally, where Sally schools Harry on the art of a woman’s ultimate manipulation tool?
Tucked in a corner plaza on Palm Ridge Road on Sanibel, Rosie’s Cafe & Grill is just like one of those cafes you might see on the silver screen. You’re always greeted with a hearty but informal hello, and somehow, no matter how busy it is, your favorite booth always seems to be unoccupied.
But there’s a certain island flair that sets this place apart. This is no bleak urban diner. A shell- filled parking lot crunches beneath sandals when walking up to the peach- colored building, and inside, a mural riddled with sea life takes up one wall, while turquoise booths line the others.
The American and Southwestern mixed menu is understated, with lunch staples such as soups, salads, sandwiches and quesadillas. There’s also a dinner menu and newly expanded breakfast menu. None of the menus have showy prices, though the quality of food can be deserving of such.
“We don’t keep anything frozen,” says Cristoval Navarrete, assistant manager at Rosie’s. “We don’t order a big amount of food so that it just sits there.” Instead, he says, they order items in small batches, even if that means possibly selling out in a day.
“You can really tell the difference,” Navarrete says of the fare. Sides such as pico de gallo, home- cut fries and potato chips are also prepared fresh each morning.
The menu item that tends to get customers’ mouths watering most is the Philly cheesesteak. The signature dish won the best carryout item in CROW’s ( Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) Taste of the Islands festival last year, and it just so happens to be co- owner Irving Gavin’s favorite meal to make.
“I’ve always been a big cheesesteak fan and have always had the goal of making the ultimate cheesesteak,” Gavin says. “I’d look at how they’d do it in Philly and in different places, and kind of took all those recipes and made it my own.”
IT’S NOT TOO OFTEN THAT A RESTAURANT OWNER WILL DOUBLE AS A COOK, BUT EVERYONE SHARES RESPONSIBILITIES AT ROSIE’S, FROM KITCHEN PREPPING TO SERVING TO SCOOPING UP SWEETS AT THE CAFE’S ROYAL SCOOP HOMEMADE ICE CREAM BAR.
It’s not too often that a restaurant owner will double as a cook, but everyone shares responsibilities at Rosie’s, from kitchen prepping to serving to scooping up sweets at the cafe’s Royal Scoop Homemade Ice Cream bar.
Still, cooking is nothing new to Gavin. Spending much of his life on Sanibel, he worked his way up the island’s restaurant ladder, and finally took over Rosie’s with co- owner Joanne Fitzgerald in 2009 when it was still a longtime deli. Rosie’s walls at the time weren’t quite big enough to hold in Fitzgerald and Gavin’s ultimate dream.
“I had a premonition a long time ago,” Gavin says. “I would always tell my friends that I’m going to retire … and open a restaurant. At that time I didn’t really anticipate that I was really going to be doing that.” Fate had another plan, however. “I was actually predicting my future,” he says. “In fact, my whole life it was something I was working toward.”
The owners could have changed the deli’s inherited name when they expanded in 2012, but it reminds Gavin too much of his other profession— landscaping. Gavin turned to landscaping full time after Hurricane Charley left the island in dire need of a makeover. Today he still dedicates two days a week to planting flowers in clients’ gardens.
It may be difficult to juggle two occupations, but the way everyone teams up at Rosie’s undoubtedly makes it easier to keep up. “Everyone here is like family,” says server Melanie Martin. “We take care of each other.” That same family quality extends to the community. Each year, Rosie’s regularly par- ticipates in public gatherings, mingling with customers at any opportunity. The restaurant returns to Taste of the Islands in November, and will participate in the Sanibel and Captiva Luminary Festival in December.
The public has another reason to look forward to Rosie’s during the winter months. If you want to forgo holiday cooking this year, the eatery will be open even on Christmas Day, serving up possible specials such as roasted duck or Cornish hen.
In Gavin’s perfect world, he says, Rosie’s would one day become a crowded restaurant, with daily lines out the door for the ice cream flavor of the month. And who knows? Its future is certainly looking rosy. But then again, guests seem pleased with their neighborhood cafe as is. Just like a quality film, there’s no need to mess with a classic. Melanie Pagan is the assignment editor and social media coordinator at TOTI Media, Inc. Follow her on our Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages, and at blog. totimedia. com.