CHAUMONT — There’s only one place in the world that you can sip and enjoy a cup of Golden Crescent Sunrise French roast coffee
That’s at Cafe Kate, a new eatery that opened in a renovated building at Route 12E and Mill Street in the village of Chaumont.
Owner Kate Gallagher worked with Lake and River Roasters in Cape Vincent to come up with that special blend served “exclusively” at the French cafe. Its name is derived from the community’s stunning crescent sunrise views, she said.
“We tasted and tasted until we came up with the delicious blend,” she said. “Of course, it’s a French roast.”
The French cafe offers breakfast sandwiches, soups, salads, lunches and lots of different kinds of desserts. All of it made at the cafe in the historic building that went through an extensive renovation before Cafe Kate opened two weeks ago. Brandy’s Barbershop occupies the other storefront.
Gallagher has 25 years experience in the local culinary world, which includes working in local restaurants and 14 years as a culinary instructor at Jefferson Community College. She’ll continue to operate Desserts by Design/The Cottage Bakery at the isthmus at Point Peninsula.
While she was talking about the cafe on a recent afternoon, a buzzing sound went off to alert her that croutons she was baking were ready. She got up from the table to take care of them. Meanwhile, an aroma of bacon and sausage filled the cafe while her daughter, Rachel Gallagher-Slate, made a soup for the next day. They do prep work after the cafe closes at 2 p.m. for the following day’s menu. In addition, Gallagher spends her mornings getting the brunt of her baking for her desserts finished in a commercial bakery above her garage at home.
“I’m a workaholic,” she explained.
Four years ago, local businessman Reg Schweitzer approached her about opening a cafe in the historic blacksmith shop that still had a dirt floor. Schweitzer had not yet acquired the building when he came to her with the offer, Gallagher remembered.
But that gave her four years to plan and put together her recipes for the cafe and what it would look like inside, explaining that she wanted to find the right decor.
“I want it to be homey and comfy,” Gallagher said. “I want it to be for customers to sit and talk and converse and enjoy their meals.”
She ordered black tufted wingback chairs, where customers can just relax. The owners of Wise Guys, the neighboring Italian restaurant, approached her about buying some similar chairs, she said.
That’s how the Chaumont community comes together to help each other, she said. Gallagher will continue to make homemade desserts for her friends’ restaurant.
It was also important to find her own niche and “not to interfere” with the other restaurants that already existed in the community, she said.
Gallagher, who has French blood, mentioned Chaumont’s historic connection to France. Founder James LeRay de Chaumont was the original landowner in the early 1800s and named the village after his hometown. So a French cafe was a natural addition to the community’s restaurant landscape.
Family also plays a crucial part in the business. Gallagher-Slate, a former hospice nurse for 25 years, now works full time at the cafe. Gallagher’s son, Ethan, covers lunches. The three are close.
“It gives us time, at some point, to be with each other during the day,” Gallagher-Slate said, stressing that she “loves” her involvement with her mom’s cafe.
Seven years ago, Gallagher lost her husband of 43 years, Bobby, after a sudden illness. It was during the flooding of lake shore communities in 2019. He had become distraught by the damage caused to their retirement property in Three Mile Bay and fell ill quickly.
“He was my biggest supporter,” she said.
A lot of the cafe can be attributed to his contributions when he was alive, she said.
Cafe Kate is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, except for Sundays when it’s closed for “Family Day.”
Dining and Cooking