Tom Kat Kafe existed in Tom Fox’s dreams for 25 years. When it was about to become a reality, the COVID-19 pandemic hit Alachua County, forcing a worldwide standstill.
Even with the pandemic’s tightened grip on businesses, Fox felt he couldn’t sit on an empty building – as well as paused dreams – any longer. So, he welcomed Tom Kat Kafe, a vegan and vegetarian cafe, located at 109 S. Main St., to Gainesville Sept. 3.
Kesl’s Coney Island, one of Gainesville’s first full-vegetarian restaurants, was the inspiration behind Tom Kat Kafe, Fox said. He spent so much time at Kesl’s Coney Island in the 1990s that he became friends with the owner.
When Kesl’s Coney Island closed in 1998, Fox decided to open a new cafe across the street with a similar menu with a more modern aesthetic. He purchased the building for the cafe in 1994 and renovated it throughout the years.
“I bought this building 25 years ago with the dream of doing this business,” Fox said, “And finally, I got the chance to do it.”
Some of the most popular menu items include the tofu or tempeh reuben, served on rye bread with swiss and sauerkraut, the carrot dog, a carrot bodied and grilled on a whole-wheat bun and the vegan brunch pancakes with fresh berries.
If customers aren’t comfortable dining in, Tom Kat Kafe delivers through the 352 Delivery service, Fox said. The cafe sends about 30 meals out for delivery per day.
To Fox, the biggest challenge of the opening is that the crowd who loved Kesl’s Coney Island is at a high-risk for contracting COVID-19. Most of the former restaurant’s patrons are now in their 60s and 70s.
Emma Grimm, the current manager of Tom Kat Kafe, was hired as a server in February. After being unemployed for six months, Grimm said the rich history behind the building pulled her in.
The building was the original location of the Gainesville Sun, Grimm said. It then became the first Black pool hall in Gainesville. The building was also where the Florida Board of Regents, the governing body for the State University System of Florida, decided that Gainesville would become the home of UF in 1905.
Despite the excitement of opening a new cafe, Grimm said there are added responsibilities with COVID-19 guidelines to keep staff and customers safe while dining in the cafe.
Face masks are required upon entry and must stay on at all times, except when the customer is eating, Fox said. The kitchen staff and servers must wear masks all day, Grimm added.
The tables are 6 feet apart with a maximum of six people at each. The restaurant moved half of the tables from the downstairs area, now limited to 58 patrons, to the Fox Lounge upstairs, where the bar is located, Fox said. The capacity in the Fox Lounge is 156 people.
Staff sanitizes high-touch surfaces every hour, and disposable silverware and menus are used to reduce the spread of the virus, Grimm said.
In a short time since opening, the cafe already developed a regular customer base. Tristan Ford Frower, a local Gainesville photographer, dines in Tom Kat Kafe several times a week.
“I am a carnivore through and through,” Frower said. “I love meat, so the fact that I went to this restaurant three days in a row to eat vegan cuisine really says something.”
The experience at the cafe was better than at other restaurants he has dined at since reopening because it’s cleaner and the tables are well spread out.
While the cafe is seeing fewer customers than Fox hopes it will during normal times, he said the community response has been positive.
“People seem to love it,” Fox said.
Owner Tom Fox and manager Emma Grimm stand outside Tom Kat Kafe, a new vegetarian cafe that opened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
