A colorful building in the heart of downtown Baroda has had a storied past, but it’s the present that is rapidly garnering attention as a truly hidden treasure. It began it’s interesting journey way back at the turn of the century when it was built to house a bank. In fact, the bank vault is still in existence today. Later it became a meat locker and butcher shop for the community of Baroda. For a very brief time it was a photography studio, and then became a church. Now, however…it is a dynamic little diner and performance house known as The Red Brick Cafe.
It’s been a bit of a journey since taking on the Red Brick moniker. Owners and operators Larry and Joan Litke launched renovation at the cafe in the summer of 2015, but did all of the work themselves, so while it was a labor of love, it was also a time consuming process.
In the beginning it was all about the music. They love music and wanted to bring live performances to the Village of Baroda. They even host an Open Mic Night every Thursday evening with dinner starting at 5:00 pm and enjoyable music starting at 7:00.
The Red Brick’s origin was as a coffee shop, opening in the summer of 2016, a year after renovations were begun, but it was still very much a hot house for the live music scene, with live entertainment every Saturday night from 6-10pm.
Driven by the desire to have a relaxed atmosphere and that small-town feeling, the Litkes opened a full scale kitchen a year ago in the spring of 2018, and they haven’t looked back since. The reviews have been overwhelmingly positive for the Red Brick Cafe’s specialty of home-style cooking for breakfast and lunch each day. They host daily specials beyond the regular menu, and also take great pride in the delivery of their coffees and espressos.
Sharing the history of the building with not only residents of the region, but the tourist community as well, the Red Brick Cafe has become that truly hidden treasure they’ve been referred to as. The uniqueness of the cafe is readily evident. As Joan says, “Walk in our doors and step into the past!”
One great sidebar for the entire community, even those who haven’t the time to stop in is the wafting aroma of the fresh pastries baking in the Red Brick kitchen every morning. For those who prefer to multi-task, the cafe also features Internet access all day.
You’ll find the Red Brick Cafe in the heart of Baroda at 8952 First Street in the village. Breakfast and lunch are served from 8am til 2pm Tuesday through Saturday.
With a staffed coffee bar and full menu they are also available for private parties, and billed as “A Great Place to Gather!” Clearly their fans concur. As they gear up for their anniversary this spring there have been nearly 60 reviews shared on their Facebook fan page and they have rated it an average of 4.8 stars out of 5.
The interior photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market is a screen capture from a brief commercial video produced for the Red Brick Cafe and is viewable with many musical performance videos on their Facebook fan page.
