photograph by michael donahue
Owners Kris, Sandy, and Kendall Robertson with bacon-wrapped shrimp, a signature item at Cafe Olé.
With its exposed brick and huge archway in the center of the dining room and the courtyard-style patio with iron furniture and a fountain, Cafe Olé feels like a vacation destination. The aroma of Mexican food wafting from the kitchen adds to the feeling.
And that’s just what owner Kendall Robertson hoped to achieve when he and his mother, Sandy Robertson, renovated the restaurant after she bought it in 2013. “My whole idea was to make you feel like you were on a vacation somewhere,” Kendall says. “We had all the palm trees, lighting. It makes you feel like you were on vacation in Mexico or somewhere else.”
photograph by michael donahue
Cafe Olé, which serves Tex-Mex food, is one of several restaurants Sandy Robertson owns. She and her late husband, Johnny Robertson, got into the restaurant-buying business in 1982 when they purchased the old Alfred’s East at Raleigh-Lagrange Road and Sycamore View Road. They went on to buy what is now Alfred’s on Beale. They also opened Dyer’s on Beale as well as the old Club Handy and Joyce Cobb’s.
After Johnny died, Sandy bought Automatic Slim’s. She also opened Ubee’s near the University of Memphis, and added Cafe Olé to her restaurant collection in 2013 after she heard a rumor it might be available.
Cafe Olé “has been on that corner since 1991,” says Robertson. “Kendall and I are the fourth owners. Johnny wanted it before he died. And he had actually thought about putting a bid on it.” Her husband “always loved that corner from the very beginning. We used to go over there when the kids were little and eat.”
Sandy got the opportunity to buy the restaurant 10 years ago. “I said, ‘Okey-dokey. Watch this.’ And I went and got it.” They thought they could “make something great out of it,” Robertson says. “It’s a fantastic corner. You’ve got the neighborhood all around you.” And, she adds, “It had a longstanding reputation.”
photograph by michael donahue
Sandy, Kendall, and Sandy’s youngest son, Kris, immediately went to work renovating and brightening up the restaurant. They built a big archway in the center of the dining room, removed plaster down to the exposed bricks on walls, and installed a new bar and booths.
An old painted sign for Coca-Cola on a brick wall is a remnant of the days when the building was a Weona grocery store, Sandy says.
They recycled the old Cafe Olé signs. One now hangs inside and the other is on the patio. Cast-iron lizards that once graced a fence at the restaurant are now incorporated into the patio tables. “I thought it would be cool to save things. They were such a staple in Cooper-Young over the years.”
Instead of completely removing a damaged tree that was part of the original patio, they cut out part of it and turned it into a table. They left the other large tree and built the patio around it.
The tables, arbor, front of the bar, and the hostess stand were specially made for them out of wood from a West Tennessee poplar tree. The new owners also added a stage to the patio area, where they feature live music.
photograph by Tessa Pascover
As for the menu, they “revamped the whole thing,” Kendall says. They got rid of the hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, and other non-Mexicanitems. But they kept the popular bacon-wrapped shrimp. “That’s our signature item, for sure,” he says. The somewhat more traditional fare includes chimichangas, quesadillas, and nachos. They also kept the Mexican pizza. A tortilla crust is covered with beans, cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, ranchero sauce, and stuffed with chicken, beef, or vegetables.
They added other items, including the popular “Brisket Benedict,” which is available at Saturday and Sunday brunch. “It’s just the brisket on top with au jus and poached eggs on toast.”
The restaurant’s name is a bit confusing for some newcomers, Kendall says. People think it refers to “cafe au lait,” or “coffee with milk.” “I know a lot of people from Europe think it’s a coffee shop and come over for coffee.”
But as soon as they walk inside, people know better when they see and smell the tortillas, melted cheese, and sizzling meat emerge on trays from the kitchen. They may not be on vacation, but they know they’re in for a classic dining experience.
Cafe Olé is located at 959 South Cooper Street.
