Business: Nature’s Best Cafe
Address: 1904 Brookdale Road, Naperville
Contact info: 630-778-1081, www.naturesbestcafe.com
Owners: Evonne and Simitio Cruz
Years in business: One.
What does this business sell? “Nature’s Best Cafe is from-scratch cooking, eating healthy,” Evonne Cruz said. “There is some comfort food involved as well. Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Fresh pizza, and lots of gluten-free options because we have celiac disease so we know how difficult it is.”
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What was the impetus for starting this business? “It’s Simitio’s dream. He came to the United States 20 years ago. He has always worked for large corporations, and has been in the food industry for over 20 years.”
What’s the best thing about being in Naperville? “What we liked about (the location), there’s a community here. There’s families and businesses in the surrounding areas, so you kind of have a lunch crowd and dinner crowd. It’s a great and diverse community.”
What is the biggest challenge about Naperville? “Probably the competition,” Simitio Cruz said. “There are quite a few chains and they just have different marketing resources. That’s the hardest part, to get people to come in and try our wood stove oven pizza, gluten-free foods, smoothies, breakfast items, soups and salads. We do have things that are different from others.”
When is your busiest time of year? “It’s hard for us to gauge,” Evonne Cruz said. “We’ve been assessing day-to-day for this first year. Friday nights are pizza busy.”
What is the most popular thing you sell? “Our mango salad, the roaster sandwich, and either the veggie or margherita pizza. But what makes us different is our pizza. And we can make any of our pizzas gluten free. They are cooked on a pan versus a stone. We also make our own dressings, vinaigrettes, to ensure they are gluten free.”
What is a less popular thing you would recommend? “Verde pizza (roasted tomatillo poblano sauce topped with red onions and queso fresco),” Simitio Cruz said. “And we also make them to order if we can.”
What is the thing you most like to do as part of your business? “The customer interaction. We have some very loyal customers and they are almost like family.”
What is your least favorite thing to do? “Dishes,” Evonne Cruz said, laughing.
What is the best thing about owning your own business? “Probably doing business as a family. It’s been an educational experience for (our children) as well.”
What is the biggest downside? “Having enough staff. We recently had a death in the family and had to close down for two days.”
Tell us about the most memorable customer you had and what made them so? “Oh, we have quite a (few),” Simitio Cruz said. “We have someone from Ukraine who moved here for work, and he brought his family and comes almost every day. We hosted a recital of music students, and that drew a huge crowd. The whole place was packed. The artist couple. We also have families who bring their families. I do feel like it’s a community.”
What is the biggest misconception about your business? “Because we have some specialty items on the menu, made from scratch, people tend to think we are upscale or pricey,” Evonne Cruz said. “We are very down to earth. This is a place to hang out and stay, if you want. Good food and good community. And our prices are definitely more reasonable. We are a family, and we know what it takes to eat out.”
What advice would you give someone thinking about starting a business? “It takes time,” Simitio Cruz said. “And effort. It takes longer than you think. Do your research.”
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.