Cafe Flora at 29th and Madison is turning 20, and they are throwing a party June 2 to celebrate. The party will be “an evening of food, wine, beer, live music and more,” and will feature many of the partners the cafe has developed since it opened in 1991.
The Puget Sound Business Journal recently profiled the vegetarian cafe:
Born in an abandoned laundromat in October 1991, it became an immediate fixture in Seattle’s Madison Valley neighborhood. It looked good and felt right in a rustic but casually sophisticated kind of way. And it had lines out the door, especially for weekend brunch.
What made it extraordinary was that the food was upscale vegetarian, presented with flair. Elsewhere at the time, vegetarian in Seattle generally meant hearty but unremarkable dishes. Café Flora took it to a new level.
“I’ve got to tell you, I was kind of intimidated that it was vegetarian. I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’ ” said , who started as a line cook at the restaurant in 1992 and is now its executive chef. “The food was very lively and colorful. The flavor combinations were surprising. It was new.”