The eatery’s most “seasoned” customer is 101.

By David Dindak

David Dindak

Happy autumn, my fellow Mo-Hillians.

Just at the northern end of town you’ll find the eclectic Morgan Hill Café. I recently had an opportunity to visit and chat with owner Teresa Fowler.  Her spouse is an engineering manager transferring to the Bay Area 4 ½ years ago. Looking for nicer areas to call home, a co-worker recommended Morgan Hill. Our quaint town was the first on the list to explore, and coming from the Midwest it was so much like the suburb where Teresa grew up, this was to be home.

Teresa has an interesting background. After earning a bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice, she served in juvenile corrections as well as worked for nonprofits, vet and military organizations. Inspired by international cooking acquired in 4-H, she has always loved to cook. Two years ago she opened Teresa’s Morgan Hill Café.

What sets the eatery apart from others is serving some of the finest homestyle cooking around. They have a very tiny freezer, so everything is fresh. Therefore, the business model is prepping from scratch as much as possible, soups completely.

On any given day you can enjoy chicken noodle, butternut apple, beef veggie, and chicken tortilla. Cookie dough, cakes, and baked goods are all done in-house as well. Teresa said she can bake a wonderful, tasty cake, but isn’t the best at decorating. Luckily the former decorator from Josephine’s Bakery and Cafe reached out and Teresa is happy to have her artistic talents on board.

The café offers weekly specials, and talking about eclectic, a couple of the bestselling favorites are BLT and chicken enchiladas. There’s also a wide variety menu with barbecue brisket, pulled pork and a nice selection of salads. The most popular cookie per one of the regulars sitting nearby is the Triple Chocolate Chip. Teresa’s 5-inch pies serving 1-2 are popular, too. She bakes with local in-season fruit — all from Andy’s Orchard, except apples. She baked for Andy’s during the summer, and currently showcases apple pie, strudel, butter crumb and apple cobbler. And sort of a little secret is she’s currently talking with Charlie of Hilltop Market at the top of Dunne about putting together some baked goods for offering. But don’t tell anyone.

Wanna spend more time with the family and enjoy a Hallmark Thanksgiving Day? Well, leave the cooking to Teresa. She’s putting together an entire all-in-one Thanksgiving dinner for pick-up.  This will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, roll and slice of pumpkin pie. Nov. 18 is the cut off for placing orders, so start getting the guest list ready.

Teresa loves it here in Morgan Hill.  Everyone was so welcoming from day one. She couldn’t count how many times someone said, “Welcome to Morgan Hill!” when they learned she was new to town . . . and running a café in a small town she very much enjoys having a finger on the pulse of the community and hearing what’s going on. She enjoys frequenting the downtown restaurants as much as she can and stays involved with her daughter’s Girl Scout troop that has marched in a few parades.

The clientele is of all ages and walks of life. During lunch she’ll get doctors, a construction crowd, dental hygienists, and international visitors.  Her what I’ll call most “seasoned” customer is 101.

The café also provides food and cookies at the San Martin Lions Club Bingo from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday nights. Well, that’s all for this month folks.  Wishing you the best of upcoming holidays.

Cheers!

David Dindak is the president of the Morgan Hill Downtown Association, co-owner Bubbles & Brew, and a RE/Max real estate agent.