Michiana's Menu: Yellow Cat Cafe is a home away from home for many

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A home away from home! On this week’s Michiana’s Menu, we introduce you to Yellow Cat Cafe. The local diner is known not only for its sprinkled pancakes and savory burgers, but also its ability to unite many different people of the community.

Located in downtown South Bend, Yellow Cat Cafe has been a go – to bite to eat since 2017. The diner offers the comfort of omelets to burgers, pancakes to meatloaf and everything in-between.

But perhaps the most notable part of the little yellow building? The atmosphere. Stacey Glassburn Wilson first opened Yellow Cat Cafe with one thing in mind…providing a home for everyone.

“So, I was raised a gatherer, I was a little girl who bought stray puppies home, strangers’ home, it has always been how I was,” says Wilson. “You never know who comes through the door, what there day is like, but you have the opportunity to make it a bit better. I think we have gotten away from that in society we do not think so much about where other people are coming from, and I am really proud of the fact people here put down their phones and talk to each other.”

The restaurant acts as a melting pot and brings together a mixture of Michiana locals and university students alike. People…from all walks of life.

Stacey’s son, Taylor Wilson, is a manager at Yellow Cat Café. He says that his mom’s drive, dedication and positive attitude inspires the rest of the staff and that’s what makes the customer experience so great.

“Mom is one of the hardest working people that I have ever been around, worked with, been in contact with. She just never stops and that energy is infectious and everyone believes in what we do here,” says Wilson.  

When you eat here…you join their family.

“That is the stuff that keeps me going, that comradery, that two people picking up a conversation at the counter because they are just two regular people, and at the end of the day we are all just regular people, we just want to get along and when you have a comfortable environment to do that, that is what happens,” says Taylor Wilson.

“We know our customers so well enough if we do not see them we call on them and check on them,” says Stacey Glassburn Wilson.  

The community means just as much to Stacey and her team.

“This community gives more than it ever even realized just because it gives a place to be home, this has always been home,” says Wilson. “Your neighborhood is only a better place when you try to make it that way”

Check out Yellow Cat Cafe here.