|
|
Business Profile
By Andrea Estrada
| Sean and Danielle McCoy owners of Cafe Angelica in Solvang both grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley. |
| The Santa Ynez Valley is a small place so it comes as no surprise when people cross paths with old friends and acquaintances they haven't seen for years. For Sean and Danielle McCoy, crossing paths one random evening led to marriage, a family, and a business. The pair own Cafe Angelica, a bistro-style restaurant at 490 First Street in Solvang. |
|
|
Both McCoys had grown up in the Santa Ynez Valley, Sean since the fourth grade and Danielle since second grade. After attending Santa Ynez High School together, they went their separate ways with Sean ending up in Orange County and Danielle at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
"I missed the Santa Ynez area, though, and wanted to come back" said Sean McCoy. When a position opened at the Alisal Guest Ranch 15 years ago, he saw it as his ticket home. Starting as a bus person, he quickly moved up through the ranks to the position of assistant food and beverage manager.
Danielle, who had a similar hankering to return to the valley, took a job in Santa Barbara. She and Sean became reacquainted and the rest, as they say, is history.
After seven years at the Alisal, McCoy decided he wanted to strike out on his own and Cafe Angelica provided the perfect opportunity.
"We purchased the restaurant a little over eight years ago," he said. "We bought it from a couple who'd had it for about two and a half years. The name is the same and some of the menu items are the same, but it's also changed a lot." Much of the menu and the entire wine list have been overhauled, he continued, and new staff, including chef Roman de la Huerta who left the Alisal to join McCoy, have taken the restaurant in a new direction.
|
| The McCoy's youngest son Brayden is the model for Cafe Angelica's angel. The McCoyÕs also have another son, 7 year-old Michael. |
|
The updated menu, which McCoy described as California cuisine with an emphasis on heavy Mediterranean dishes, includes specialties such as chicken picatta, chicken marsala, fresh seafood, and a variety of pastas. The restaurant's signature dish is filet mignon stuffed with bleu cheese.
"And cioppino is a local favorite, particularly for summer," he noted. "Add a glass of chardonnay and sit out on the deck on a warm evening and it's perfect."
In an effort to enhance what he calls a partnership between food and wine in the valley, McCoy created a wine list for Cafe Angelica that features offerings from most of the wineries in the area.
"We support a lot of the downtown tasting rooms and wine shops," he said. "We try to run a wine promotion once a month featuring a winery and its wines. A professional comes out and talks to our staff about how the wine is made and what's special about it, and gives insights on how to pair it with certain foods."
McCoy learned the details of restaurant management through hands-on experience and by keeping a keen eye on food and beverage manager John Martino, his mentor at Alisal. |
|
"He's a good friend and has helped me out professionally," said McCoy. As Martino's assistant, McCoy helped oversee operations at the Alisal's numerous restaurants and bars.
"When I was there I was able to learn the dynamics of fine dining, snack bar service, and everything in between," he said.
The McCoys have found maintaining a steady customer base year-round is due in large part to a following of local customers.
"Solvang is a unique town. There's lots of tourism during the summer months but after summer and Theatrefest, it's otherwise a pretty quiet place," McCoy said. "You need a lot of local support to make it year-round here and we've been fortunate to have a lot of that." |
|
|
As a way to thank customers for their loyalty during the off-season, the McCoys frequently offer two-for-one dinner specials in the fall and winter. "It's a way to get people in and let them know we appreciate their business."
Cafe Angelica is a family affair with McCoy's sister Natalie serving as assistant manager and his mother Carole as the special events coordinator. |
Copyright 2006, 2007 Inside Santa Ynez Valley Magazine, All Rights Reserved
|
