Just inside the sturdy front doors of Cafe d’Marie in Davenport’s Gold Coast neighborhood is a wall filled with works of art, including several framed paper napkins with messages of praise from customers. One of those napkins reads: “I love your cafe! Praying your business prospers this year and your community grows in love and […]
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Just inside the sturdy front doors of Cafe d’Marie in Davenport’s Gold Coast neighborhood is a wall filled with works of art, including several framed paper napkins with messages of praise from customers.
One of those napkins reads: “I love your cafe! Praying your business prospers this year and your community grows in love and joy. Happy holidays – Tara & Jimmy”
Next to that message is another framed napkin with the note: “Most wonderful cafe in the Quad Cities.”
The napkin notes are written by customers, who leave the Cafe d’Marie staff more than the traditional tips after meals.
“Young and old, people will write these messages on their napkins. … We are always looking for good napkins,” said Dr. DeAnna Marie Walter, one of the owners of Cafe d’Marie, located in a historic two-story red brick building at 514 W. 5th St. along an old brick street. She owns the restaurant with her fiance, Rick Kimmel.
In addition to her restaurant, Dr. Walter is a practicing chiropractor and a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic, Davenport. She still sees a few patients these days. However, many of the patients are referred to her sister, also a chiropractor, Dr. Tonia M. Rogers, who is next door to Cafe d’Marie. She runs the Gold Coast Chiropractic & Acupuncture Wellness Center at 604 W. Fifth St.
The Cafe d’Marie building, located within a home that dates back to about 1865, is a far cry from this era that is often producing ultra-modern-looking restaurants with menus to match. However, judging by the praiseful napkins and other compliments, the local restaurant’s old-world charm has developed a loyal following of foodies.
In addition to those napkins, Cafe d’Marie has been getting a lot of other recent acclaim. For instance, the popular online directory Yelp recently released its “Top 100 U.S. Restaurant List” and Cafe d’Marie earned spot No. 36 on that list and was the only Iowa restaurant to be honored. That Yelp list made national news and earned even more praise for Cafe d’Marie.
“DeAnna and her family restored a historic building and pioneered a unique restaurant on the edge of downtown long before the development momentum we enjoy today,” Kyle Carter, executive director of the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) recently told the QCBJ. “Their hard work and dedication to their craft has clearly paid off, and we’re proud to call Cafe d’Marie part of the downtown Davenport family.
“DDP is proud to see them earn national recognition; it’s well deserved,” Mr. Carter added.
Earning awards is nothing new to the Davenport business. A quick look around the cafe shows many framed honors from previous Yelp restaurant lists and the Quad Cities Local Love Us organization. But Dr. Walter said she is especially proud of the newest Yelp award because this is perhaps the top award the Davenport business has received.
The honor, of course, is a team effort and a tribute to the service – and especially the food – served at Cafe d’Marie, the owner added.
At Cafe d’Marie, it really is all about the food. The menu that has people writing on those napkins and coming back for more include:
Paninis served on artisan bread and topped with fresh spinach. Some of the offerings include: turkey, cranberry cream cheese, muenster cheese on white artisan bread; ham, Boetje’s mustard mayo, baby swiss on tomato basil bread; and salami, ham, yellow mustard pesto mayo and baby swiss.
Quiche de jour. Some of the options include: blueberry, honey, goat cheese and spinach; bacon, tomato, dubliner cheese and spinach; cherry, goat cheese and spinach.
Salads made with tomato, red onion, cucumbers, celery, sweet bell pepper, croutons, dubliner cheese and the cafes signature homemade blueberry feta vinaigrette.
Drinks include crushed all fruit smoothies, specialty lattes and espresso drinks.
Desserts include the signature bread pudding, cakes, scones, cinnamon rolls and fresh baked cookies.
The tasty items on the menu and the great service from the staff have made Cafe d’Marie a real success story in the Quad Cities, said Dr. Walter.
“This is the place people want to show off to their friends. … It’s that place that is special,” she added.
But, it hasn’t been an easy road to success and good business. When Dr. Walter and Chef Rick Kimmel got the idea to create a warm, comfortable oasis in 2009, they got plenty of negative feedback from people who said her restaurant wouldn’t work in Davenport.
“It was all negative,” she said recalling some of these comments: “It’s a bad location. It’s a bad part of town. You don’t have enough experience… It was all negative all over.”
However, with a lot of hard work, Cafe d’Marie has survived and thrived. In fact, Dr. Walter calls her restaurant “the miracle on 5th Street” because it beat the odds.
But, to keep that miracle going, she is looking to the future and considering making changes to the business including adding more quiche and soup options for the customers.
Other changes involve improving the old building. The 19th century two-story building wouldn’t exactly be modernized, but she hopes Mr. Kimmel will use his carpentry skills this summer to install new, energy efficient windows in the building. Those new windows are needed because this winter’s heating bills have been tough and it’s time for at least parts of the old building to change with the times, Dr. Walter added.
But don’t expect any other big changes to the restaurant. She is committed to keeping the old building charm and atmosphere in place. Cafe d’Marie, with its 15 tables for customers, will continue to have a warm, welcoming vibe with cozy chairs and other furniture, and plenty of art for the walls.
She wants her old building to continue to be that place that brings back memories for her customers.
“When people come in here, they are fed with the wholesomeness of a family embracing them. … We welcome people to our home. We are inviting people to our table,” she added.
And many of her customers enjoy coming to the Cafe d’Marie table. They keep writing their praises on the napkins.
