Sadie J’s Opens In Mayville

Glad To Be Back By Dennis Phillips, mailto:dphillips@%20post-journal.com MAYVILLE - If you find something you like to do for a living, you should stick with it. It's an approach Louise Johnson, Sadie J's Cafe owner, is taking and enjoying. The cafe owner has opened in a new location at 21 S. Erie St., Mayville, after a hiatus of a couple of years from running the restaurant. Sadie J's Cafe was located inside the Chautauqua Institution for 16 years and had the same name. However, Ms. Johnson closed the cafe to ''semi-retire.'' ''I had 10 different jobs in three years during that time,'' she said about her semi-retirement. ''I decided to come back because I missed the business. I missed the customers, serving good food. Some of my employees even came back to work with me again.'' In fact, Ms. Johnson said it was after running into an old employee and after seeing that BonJour Cafe - her previous restaurant in the same location - had closed that she thought it was possible to return. ''I saw that it was empty and thought 'what could happen,''' she said. ''Then I ran into an old employee and asked her what if I opened the cafe again and she though it was a great idea.'' Ms. Johnson said it took about three weeks to get organized and ready to reopen Sadie J's Cafe, which opened on June 22. ''I'm glad to be back. I'm happy as can be,'' she said. ''I have a positive feeling in this building, like I'm meant to be here.'' Ms. Johnson said the word of mouth advertising she is getting in the Mayville and Chautauqua area has been great for business. ''Seeing people that used to come to the cafe in the institution and now having new customers like the county employees, we're having so much fun,'' she said. ''Seeing old customers and reconnecting with them has been great.'' Ms. Johnson said she got her start when her old boss, Charlie Heinz, helped her get with purchasing her own business. She said she was working for Heinz when the business was a grocery store inside the Chautauqua Institution. ''He gave me my start. The best boss I ever had. He was a great person,'' she said. Ms. Johnson said she bought the store in the early 1990s and renamed the business Sadie J's Cafe after her cat. ''I always loved the name and thought it had a ring to it,'' she said. Sadie J's is known for its jumbo cookies, breakfast sandwiches and Chautauqua melts, Ms. Johnson said. Also, she said there are lots of vegetarian meals, with no deep frying of any meals. ''All food is made to order and it's all fresh,'' she said. The business is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with breakfast served until 11 a.m. For more information or place an order, call 753-3311. Subscribe to Post-Journal For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com