By JANE VAJNAR

Contributing writer

After four months in business, Amber Peterson, operator of the Tampa Cafe, remains optimistic about her business venture. “I think I’ve had more success than I expected,” said Peterson. “The community has really supported me, and I appreciate that.”

Although Peterson had no previous restaurant experience, she knew how to cook for large numbers of diners. She had cooked in a nursing home in Winfield which she called “one of the top-of-the-line nursing homes.” She had started there as a dishwasher and worked up to head weekend cook. “You had to be good, or they wouldn’t let you cook there.”

One rather exciting experience there was cooking for Larry Hatteberg, who often came to visit his mother.

Several factors contributed to her decision to open her own restaurant. “I had quit the county and was looking for another job. With gas prices the way they are I didn’t want to drive long distances, and I wanted to be able to go to Tanner’s sports events.” Ty and Amber’s oldest son, Tanner, has started junior high this fall. They have two younger sons, Austin and Kyle.

Peterson says her biggest challenge has been knowing whether she has prepared enough food. However, she has begun to learn what days business is likely to be slow. “If rain is coming, business is slow, because everyone is trying to get things done before the rain.”

Her favorite part of running the cafe is the people. “I like to visit with people whenever I can get out of the kitchen.”

Tampa residents are at least as pleased about the cafe’s being open again as its proprietor. Some will be glad to hear she is considering opening for an occasional evening, but that is not definite.

“I really enjoy doing this,” said Peterson. “It’s fun listening to the guys joke around in the morning. I like being in town with day-care right across the street. I have less stress than I had working for someone else.”

Peterson also mentioned, “One thing I love about the building is its history. Our storeroom is the old bank vault.”

The century-old building really has an interesting history. It was built in 1905. The Tampa State Bank had opened for business in 1901, but for four years they were in a wooden building next door. However, old pictures of Tampa show that the brick building was built before the building north of it, which used to house the grocery store.

The bank occupied the building until their present building was completed in 1979. Then Butch and Phyllis Mueller bought the building and turned it into a cafe called Butch’s Diner. They ran it until Butch’s health failed in 1994. Phyllis still owns the building. After Butch’s death, Marvin and Maggie Meisinger took over the cafe.

The Meisingers kept the name Butch’s Diner and ran it from 1994 to 1997.

Apparently they felt good about the business, because they returned and operated the cafe from 1999 to 2004. Between their stints Ethel Kellogg ran it for a while. She decorated with a Mexican or Southwestern theme, but kept the name.

When Phyllis Branson ran the cafe from March to November 2006, she changed the name to Granny’s Little Grill. Hector and Felicitas Cardenas ran it as a Mexican restaurant called Casa Azteca from May to October 2007.

Peterson has tried for simplicity in her name, The Tampa Cafe.

Through the years the cafe has received a lot of favorable publicity, including a write-up in Kansas Magazine. It is surprising how far its fame has spread with many travelers from out of state seeking it out, because they have heard about its great food.

Although management has changed several times, for the most part the quality has been maintained.

Phyllis Mueller and Maggie Meisinger, who had the longest reigns as head cook, both held down other full-time jobs while they and their husbands ran the cafe. “It was hard work,” said Phyllis, “but I enjoyed it. It was my dream.”

Both Mueller and Meisinger recalled a lot of pleasant memories from their times.

Phyllis, who was trained as an emergency medical technician, once rescued a diner who was choking.

Meisinger said, “It holds a lot of memories. We did a 50th wedding anniversary party. We did a Santa Fe Trail thing in there. And just the people we knew who came in to socialize.”

Although the building on Tampa’s Main Street which houses the cafe is more than 100 years old, it is still making memories for a whole new generation.