Swanville cafe is hopping

SWANVILLE -- The coffee is hot and the morning dice games are back at Granny's Cafe in Swanville.

The Swanville cafe, owned by 34 shareholders that include 67 investors from the tiny community, opened officially Monday.

The cafe unofficially opened for business Wednesday and was so busy that the restaurant ran out of 24 cases of food and supplies by Monday, said shareholder Lowell Drager, who sat down at the restaurant counter this morning and had the first official bowl of chili from the cafe. Also the official cafe historian, Drager even took a photograph of the chili for his records.

Community members came together and built the cafe this spring after fire had destroyed the community's only cafe, the Corner Cafe, two years ago. Until now, the town of 351 residents had been without a gathering place, a place to solve the world's problems and spread a little gossip.

Drager said the community support for the cafe has been amazing. People from neighboring cities have been stopping by and dining at the new cafe. Restaurant staff have been overwhelmed by the number of customers. Shareholders are asking customers to be patient as they work out the kinks in operating their new cafe.

"I think everyone is happy to have the place open," said Drager. "It's been really hectic. We're trying to get the word out to people that when they come in, they have to be patient. We've got to get used to having so many customers. We're just not used to this."

Granny's Cafe is open 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week and is located at the corner of DeGraff Avenue and Third Street in downtown Swanville.