hello!
Since we often have questions from our customers about the cafe & our origins, this page offers a synopsis of how this odd little restaurant has come to be.
Located in the Sylva-famous Hooper Building, a converted 1920s drugstore/soda shop, ruffian baby Guadalupe opened up sans signage in the spring of 2004, filling a pocket-sized niche in Sylva for highly quirky, often spicy, creative/weird cuisine paired with delicious craft beers and un-pronounceable wines. We recycled/reused every bit of useful material we inherited from Hooper's Snack Bar, not just because it was our ethic (which it was & still is) but also, we were pretty broke & trying to make a restaurant is a spendy endeavor. You can still sit in Hooper's old-timey red swivel stools & spy the patchwork of brick, plaster & panel walls we formed from scraps after taking out the old Drugstore shelving. I chose the name Guadalupe for two reasons: i wanted folks to get the idea the food might be a bit latin-inspired, and I cherish the resilient, beautiful fusion of traditions Our Lady Guadalupe represents. Our weird little dinosaur logo is just something i dreamt up.
Back in the olden days, Guadalupe was as much a music venue as a restaurant. I kept the tiny menu rotating from night to night and we hosted a dizzying array of independent musical acts from near & far ... but as Sylva's bar scene (& my family) grew, we finally hung a proper sign out front and traded late night revelries for brunch, lunch & espresso. In the years since, our permanent menu has grown considerably & the cafe is now home to a collaborative culinary team.
Since the very beginning we've partnered with artists, farmers, crafters & non-profits, and been dearly blessed with an ever-growing cadre of guests who eat our foods year after year, who sustain and share our mission of good local food for all. All of these folks: the eaters & drinkers, the farmers, cheesemakers, cooks & chefs, the coffee roasters, jam makers, brewers, beekeepers, artists, musicians & all-purpose makers of our little world, have contributed/ inspired everything that is wonderful about this place, and were it not for all of you we could never have come to be.
xo,
jen
Located in the Sylva-famous Hooper Building, a converted 1920s drugstore/soda shop, ruffian baby Guadalupe opened up sans signage in the spring of 2004, filling a pocket-sized niche in Sylva for highly quirky, often spicy, creative/weird cuisine paired with delicious craft beers and un-pronounceable wines. We recycled/reused every bit of useful material we inherited from Hooper's Snack Bar, not just because it was our ethic (which it was & still is) but also, we were pretty broke & trying to make a restaurant is a spendy endeavor. You can still sit in Hooper's old-timey red swivel stools & spy the patchwork of brick, plaster & panel walls we formed from scraps after taking out the old Drugstore shelving. I chose the name Guadalupe for two reasons: i wanted folks to get the idea the food might be a bit latin-inspired, and I cherish the resilient, beautiful fusion of traditions Our Lady Guadalupe represents. Our weird little dinosaur logo is just something i dreamt up.
Back in the olden days, Guadalupe was as much a music venue as a restaurant. I kept the tiny menu rotating from night to night and we hosted a dizzying array of independent musical acts from near & far ... but as Sylva's bar scene (& my family) grew, we finally hung a proper sign out front and traded late night revelries for brunch, lunch & espresso. In the years since, our permanent menu has grown considerably & the cafe is now home to a collaborative culinary team.
Since the very beginning we've partnered with artists, farmers, crafters & non-profits, and been dearly blessed with an ever-growing cadre of guests who eat our foods year after year, who sustain and share our mission of good local food for all. All of these folks: the eaters & drinkers, the farmers, cheesemakers, cooks & chefs, the coffee roasters, jam makers, brewers, beekeepers, artists, musicians & all-purpose makers of our little world, have contributed/ inspired everything that is wonderful about this place, and were it not for all of you we could never have come to be.
xo,
jen
