Janie's Cafe stays local as new owners keep restaurant alive - Longmont Times-Call

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Fans of the downtown Longmont restaurant Janie’s Cafe can rest easy knowing the establishment is under new, but familiar, ownership.

Longmont residents Luis and Karen Castaneda, husband and wife, were already longtime employees of Janie’s before becoming co-owners of the establishment at the beginning of this month. They’re leasing the restaurant from previous owner Richard Yu, who recently decided to move out of Colorado.

The entrance to Janie’s Cafe is seen on Main Street in Longmont on Friday. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

“He was going to actually close the doors if he didn’t sell or rent,” Karen Castaneda said. “And I’ve been here for 20 years, and I just couldn’t let it happen.”

In fact, the Castanedas had considered stepping up as co-owners ever since after the original owner, Janie Madewell, sold the business to Yu around five years ago. Karen Castaneda previously served as cafe’s manager and head waitress and will continue waiting tables and overseeing operations on top of her ownership duties.

The same can be said for Luis Castaneda, who was the head chef at Janie’s before the leadership change and will keep cooking the menu items that customers love going forward.

“We were doing this already for years,” Luis Castaneda said. “The only difference is that (Yu) is not here. Everything else is the same.”

The diner-style restaurant at 431 Main St. offers traditional American fare including burgers, steaks and all-day breakfast. The walls are decorated with vintage signs that speak to the cafe’s history within the city; the building has housed several restaurants over its lifetime before it became Janie’s Cafe almost 25 years years ago.

For the Castanedas, Janie’s is their turf.

“It’s my home away from home,” Karen Castaneda said. “The customers are just like family, a lot of them. They’ve been here from the day I started.”

The new owners said regulars have been supportive of the transition so far.

“They’re happy for us,” Luis Castaneda said. “They make us feel comfortable with it. We have a lot of customers, almost the same customers every day, sometimes twice a day.”

During the breakfast rush between 8 to 11 a.m., Janie’s loyal customers flock to the cafe for both good food and good conversation. It’s a community, Karen Castaneda explained.

“(Regulars) told me if this place closed, they wouldn’t know what they would do,” she said.

While the couple is dedicated to keeping the beloved restaurant mostly the same, a few changes are already in the works. In October, the cafe will start opening earlier at 6 a.m. and closing later at 2 p.m., as well as staying open on Sundays. The longer hours will also be a chance to reintroduce lunch specials, which were halted during the COVID pandemic.

The Castanedas signed a five-year lease, and they’d like to buy the restaurant by the end of that timeframe. It’s a big goal, but at least for now, Janie’s isn’t going anywhere.

“After five years, we don’t know,” Luis Castaneda said. “But for five years, it’s going to be here.”

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Janie's Cafe stays local as new owners keep restaurant alive - Longmont Times-Call
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