Residents in Burden welcomed a nice surprise this week with the return of Ma’s Cafe. Earlier this year, the previous owners of the cafe retired and closed the only sit-down restaurant in town. Bobby Smith and Hui Son had run the cafe since Jan. 11, 2021. However, Sandra and John Picconatto began renting the building and have reopened the cafe Monday through Saturday. Sandra spoke about Ma’s Cafe on Wednesday afternoon. She is from Wilmot, but has lived in Burden for the past 18 years. “A couple of years ago, we did a food truck,” Sandra said. “It did really well, and we enjoyed it. We decided to expand this year by opening the cafe back up. The previous owners allowed us to keep the name.” The process started when they rented the building on Aug 1. It took 40 days to open it from start to finish. “It involved a lot of cleaning. Anytime you open up a new restaurant, you have to get the licenses and permits, etc.” Sandra said they are leasing the building for one year to see how it goes. “We may purchase the building, if things go well,” she added. The restaurant looks pretty much the same inside. The menu is a little different. The previous owner had Korean options no longer available. They are offering daily specials. “There may be some trial and error in some parts. We’d like to have Thursday evening buffets,” she explained. “Rotate with fried chicken, pulled pork, tator tot casserole, and meatloaf. Each week would be something different. We also want to do Taco Tuesday. “My daughter and her husband are helping with the management portion. There will be four employees as of right now.”
Source: Cowley CourierTraveler
