By Jill Draper
Caleb’s Breakfast & Lunch is open! Red Bridge Shopping Center’s newest restaurant had a soft opening for family and friends over Thanksgiving weekend and now is ready for customers from 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
The breakfast menu features classic fare such as egg dishes, pancakes and French toast as well as berry crepes, biscuits and gravy, cinnamon rolls made daily and southwestern burritos and quesadillas.
For lunch there are a variety of sandwiches and salads along with several house specialties: Texas chicken quesadillas, buffalo chicken fingers and hand-breaded chicken fingers made with a custom seasoning mix. Sides include fries, fresh fruit or seasoned cottage cheese.
Both breakfast and lunch items are served all day, says Rebecca Huntsman. She grew up in the food business, but Caleb’s is the first restaurant that she has owned and managed.
“It’s been an interesting journey,” she says. “We’re excited to be here and the community is excited, too. We’ve had people stopping in every day to ask when we’ll be open.”
Named for her 13-year-old son, Caleb’s sits in the northwest corner of the shopping center just east of Euston Hardware. The 5,000-square-foot interior is decorated in shades of blue, cream and gray with a whimsical collection of animal-themed artwork, hand-painted window frames, antique ceiling lights and reclaimed barn lumber from a company in Leawood.
Some describe the style as eclectic. Others remark that it has character. “I don’t know if there’s actually a name for it,” Huntsman says. She got the idea from taking road trips with Caleb, always searching for “great little restaurants” along the way to their destination.
“When he was little,” she remembers, “I looked for places we could play ‘I spy’ in—places with things that create conversation and memories. I hope we can create that same kind of environment for other people to enjoy.”
Huntsman moved to Kansas City as a child when her father, Ron Hendrix, started a group of First Watch restaurants in the area. Now her brother and his wife own similar restaurants in the Northland and Lenexa. She says that Caleb’s menu is much the same, but it’s still evolving.
“I have some fantastic chefs in the back who are ready to create daily specials,” she says. “We’re ready to go. We have a private party reserved in the back room next Saturday, so we should be.”
The restaurant is still hiring employees for a few positions. More information is at calebskc.com.