The Centre Street Cafe will soon be transformed into a space-themed diner.
Co-owner David Doyle said in an email to the Gazette that the cafe closed on June 17 and will re-open as the Little Dipper in the first or second week of July.
“While the new iteration of Centre Street Cafe had its loyal fans, and many appreciated the housemade pasta, the feedback we got suggested that many guests were looking for more of a casual, weekly go-to restaurant rather than a slightly upscale, “special event” type place,” said Doyle. “The weekend brunch has always been very popular; we’re hoping that a casual, diner-style restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week will appeal to a wider segment of JP. In our opinion, there aren’t enough options for great breakfast food in JP. We’re hoping the unique decor of the room will appeal to those looking for something creative, colorful, and fun.”
He said that the Little Dipper was chosen as the name because “it’s fun, casual, and suggests an outer space theme. We’re hoping the restaurant will feel a bit like a space travel agency by day, with travel posters highlighting various destinations in our galaxy. At night, we’re going to open the shuttered niches in the walls (sort of like portholes) to create the effect that the room is actually traveling in space.”
Doyle said when the diner first opens, it will only serve breakfast and lunch with the menu including items such as egg dishes, a breakfast sandwich with housemade English muffin, a housemade doughnut, a regular burger and chickpea burger, several salads, a fried chicken sandwich, a rice bowl with veggies, and a grilled fish sandwich. He said the hope is to begin dinner service after about a month of opening and that it will “feature classic dishes that represent the diversity of American cuisine: that might include blackened fish, roasted chicken, eggplant parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, dumplings, steak, etc.”
Doyle added that, “I’m proud that the Little Dipper kitchen will be headed by a female chef, my business partner Robyn McGrath, and that the restaurant is majority female owned (the other partners are Lelia Asher, Robyn’s wife, and Maricely Perez-Alers, my wife). The team would like to thank the JP community for supporting Centre Street Cafe, and appreciate all of the enthusiasm and excitement that many have shared with us about Little Dipper. We hope to be serving the neighborhood casual, delicious food for many years to come.”