During our vacation in the Spicer/New London area of West Central Minnesota, the manager at the hotel where we stayed completely oversold the breakfast they had when we checked into the place. Since my wife has to have three square meals a day, we went out a couple mornings to find someplace to get something to start our day. We had gone up to New London a couple days prior to check out the town (it was also somewhat oversold by the manager at the hotel), but we found a quaint little place on the main road through the downtown area called The Middle Fork Cafe. We decided to head there for breakfast one morning.
Cousins Cindy Finsaas and Suzanne Ziebarth are the owners of The Middle Fork Cafe which is named for the river that runs directly behind the restaurant - the Middle Fork of the Crow River. The cafe is just downstream from the Mill Pond Dam which helps make a series of connected lakes that meander through the heart of New London.
Finsaas is the only one of the two who had any previous restaurant experience as she was the original owner of Lulu Beans Coffee Shop in Willmar. After selling the place in 2006, she was out of the restaurant industry for awhile before she decided it was time to do something. Suzanne Ziebarth had been out of the country as a missionary for 16 years before moving back to Willmar about 8 years ago. The two shared a love for locally-raised, natural foods and they started to look into doing their own farm-to-fork restaurant.
The two found a spot in New London, a small town about 15 miles north of Willmar. They had the opportunity to take over Jan's Riverside Cafe in downtown New London and the cousins decided to take the plunge in the spring of 2013. The cousins did a complete renovation of the space with help from friends and family. Contractors were brought in when needed, but Finsaas and Ziebarth oversaw most of the work.
Pictured right - Cindy Finsaas and Suzanne Ziebarth. Photo courtesy West Central Tribune.
After the remodeling was finished, Middle Fork Cafe opened in September of 2013. At first, the restaurant was just opened for breakfast and lunch six days a week (closed Sunday). But within a couple of years they began to stay open for dinner Thursday thru Saturday nights.
The success of the Middle Fork Cafe in New London prompted Finsaas and Ziebarth to open a second location in their hometown of Willmar in July of 2018. They partnered with local used-book store owner Heather King of the Flyleaf Book Shop to share their space in Willmar.
It was a bright and sunny morning when we pulled into New London and found parking just down from Middle Fork Cafe on Main Street. (see map) Right inside the door was a refrigerated case that contained cakes and baked goods. The cakes on display were decorated in a very ornate fashion. We enquired after breakfast about some of the cakes they had and one was a lemon-blueberry cake - they had me at lemon, but blueberries are a wonderful combination with any lemon flavor.
The inside dining area was a quaint and cozy area which featured a number of heavy wood tables and chairs. The table tops were made from repurposed and refinished barn boards. The floor was made from raw wooden planks that were found abandoned in a wooded area, sanded and finished. Banquette seating along the wall was backed by a soft foam covered in fabric.
Because it was such a beautiful morning, my wife said she wanted to sit out on the patio. The patio area had a handful of metal-wire tables and chairs underneath a pergola made from repurposed wood from an old barn. A trellis lined the back wall that looked out toward the Middle Fork of the Crow River.
A young man came out with a couple menus for us to look over. I got a bloody mary and an espresso to start out, while my wife got a glass of orange juice.
The menu had both breakfast and lunch items listed. Breakfast is served until 11 a.m. daily and they have pretty much what you'd expect for breakfast items - omelets, pancakes, French toast, a breakfast burrito and a breakfast croissant. Pastries, muffins and rolls are made in-house. For lunch, they have a number of sandwiches, salads and wraps to choose from. A handful of gluten free items are available, as well. Everything Middle Fork Cafe has on their menu is locally-sourced and made-from-scratch.
They make a quiche each day and my wife asked our server what the flavor of the day was. It was a spinach quiche and my wife ordered that. A side of fruit came with the quiche and she also got sourdough toast with her breakfast. The quiche was big and fluffy with a caramelized cheese topping. My wife was happy with her order.
I wasn't really all that hungry, but we were going to be out exploring the area and I didn't know if we would be having lunch or not. I went pretty basic - two eggs over easy with bacon and sourdough toast. It was fine for what it was, but I thought it was a little expensive - $7 bucks for two eggs, two pieces of bacon and sourdough toast.
But still, we thought Middle Fork Cafe was a nice place for a good basic breakfast. It was a quaint little place with a nice patio area. My wife liked her spinach quiche and my basic eggs-bacon-toast was fine. I liked that they had both espresso and bloody mary's available. My only regret is that we never went back to get a piece of the lemon-blueberry cake that is made in-house at Middle Fork Cafe. It was a nice little place and we were both happy with our meals.
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