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    Katalina’s: A Glance Back Through the Cafe’s Culinary Evolution

    Katalina’s, the local cafe famous for its signature pancake balls, is fast approaching its fifth summer in business.

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    The century-old building, a former filling station, sits in the east end of Harrison West, removed from the caffeinated stir of Downtown Columbus. Though the neighborhood is quiet, Katalina’s could never be described as sleepy; the vibrant cafe provides a splash of color along the bricks of Harrison West, where lines consistently snake out the doors during Saturday brunch.

    Owner Kathleen Day remembers wanting to open a restaurant since the age of nine, when she first took an interest in cooking. Her dream became reality on December 23, 2009, the day she first opened the doors of Katalina’s. As of this past winter, “the little cafe with lots of local goodness” has rounded its five-year anniversary, marking 1,825 days of hawking Latin-brushed tradition to the masses.

    Born in Arkansas, Day worked in the Seattle fashion advertising industry for most of her life before relocating to Columbus for a job opportunity.  Five and a half years ago, she decided it was now or never for her restaurant aspirations. Cafe Corner, an existing restaurant, went up for sale, and Day nabbed the space, adding ‘Katalina’s’ to the name. She kept the old menu, keeping dishes that existing customers already knew and loved, and slowly eased her own recipes into the mix. Her pancake balls and Mazatlan slow-roasted pork and egg sandwich quickly gained renown, remaining popular menu mainstays to this day. As of July 2014, the menu is now completely her own.

    “That’s my baby… that menu’s the one I’ve worked on so long, that has all of my recipes,” said Day. “I’m more successful than ever, so it’s really a testament to how hard I’ve worked on it through all these years.”

    Day describes her food as always having a Latin touch, with a unique Southern New Orleans-style twist. One of the more interesting recent additions to the menu has been the Elote Street Corn, a half-cob of fresh corn rolled in guajilo pepper, smoked paprika, and a creamy sriracha-lime aioli, sprinkled with cotija cheese. The corn, alongside dishes like her Swedish pancake balls, biscuit and veggie sausage gravy, and unique ginger beer biscuit balls serve as a testament to the variety of her menu.

    “It’s a mishmash of influences, but it’s always quirky and eclectic,” said Day. “I think that’s why people like Katalina’s so much – you can’t really pigeonhole it.”

    The Columbus restaurant landscape has evolved prominently in the past half-decade. Prior to Seattle, Day touched base in New Orleans, San Francisco, and France, where she learned to cook in her early 20s. Accustomed to restaurant scenes where local sourcing was prioritized, Day sought to bring the same focus to Katalina’s. She cites turning a profit while sourcing sustainably, locally, and ethically as her biggest challenge working in the Columbus market over the years. Her sources range from all over Ohio, with a few scattered across the U.S.; the crema that tops her award-winning breakfast tacos comes from Snowville Creamery in Pomeroy; the pork that fills the Mazatlan sandwich and makes Katalina’s sweet ‘n’ spicy bacon comes from Beeler’s Pure Pork, an Iowa company that raises their pigs free range. Local sources are preferred, but ethicality takes precedence.

    “I pride myself on being one of the first few restaurants to use local food, ethical meats, and high-quality ingredients,” said Day. “I really got into that niche at a great time.”

    That niche has since expanded vastly, with seemingly every Columbus restaurant’s menu now sourced as consciously as possible.

    Last October, Katalina’s partnered with Oddfellows Liquor Bar, serving a pop-up brunch menu of their most popular dishes. As far as further expansions go, a Katalina’s food truck may be in Columbus’ near future. If operations don’t solidify this year, the truck will roll out next summer, making partnerships with other restaurants (and public access to pancake balls) much easier.

    At the end of the day, though, what Day has appreciated the most about Katalina’s over the past five years has been the steadily positive customer response.

    “I’ve been so lucky. They’ve embraced me from the beginning, and I can’t thank my customers enough –  they’ve been so loyal.”

    To read more about the business evolution behind the scenes at Katalina’s, CLICK HERE to visit TheMetropreneur.com.

    For more info, visit www.katalinascolumbus.com.

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    Rebecca Wagner
    Rebecca Wagnerhttps://columbusunderground.com
    Rebecca Wagner is a former staff writer at Columbus Underground who reported on local food and restaurant news. She's a graduate of Ohio University's E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.
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