The cast of characters who are among the “regulars” at Lemon Tree Café in Ralston are a dedicated group. There’s the mom who drives 25 minutes all the way from Elkhorn, passing a variety of other eateries, simply because she loves the food and finds it a friendly place to bring her kids to eat. There’s the gentleman who eats at Lemon Tree Café every Saturday, but then returns on Sunday to fulfill the “order envy” he feels when he sees what everyone else eats on Saturday. There are also the students in a weekly yoga class who all rush to the café together after class. Then there’s the group of retired fellows who visit every morning and have been known to shovel the walkway when it snows in the winter.
And when the April tornadoes hit, the owners and the regulars all checked in with each other in an active group chat. They’ve all become a happy, ersatz family. “Some people are there every day of the week,” co-owner Deniz Botkin said. “They’re very endearing.”
The regulars have all gotten to know owners Meghan McLarney, Jennifer Farris, and Botkin, though Omaha is already fairly familiar with McLarney and Farris, who are essentially Omaha food scene royalty as the daughters of Lisa Radial Café’s Lisa Schembri. McLarney also owns Gravy Train and Omaha Soup Company–although she has since closed the brick-and-mortar restaurant of Gravy Train to focus on farmers markets and Lemon Tree Café.
Farris continues to run Lisa’s Radial Café with her brother, Jacob Schembri.
How McLarney, Farris, and Botkin joined forces to open the popular café is an interesting story of luck, circumstance, and a labor of love. Botkin, who owns the building and runs the Ralston Repeat Boutique upstairs, was notified that the previous tenant of the café, which used to be Sojourn Café, was ready to move on and do something else. Before it closed, the establishment had grown a roster of its own regulars, too.
Botkin reached out to her local contacts to find out if there might be someone looking to open a café in historic Downtown Ralston. It was a good restaurant space with a nice kitchen and was ready for a tenant. The building, on Main Street between 72nd and 77th streets, is more than 100 years old and has a charming look and feel.
“I wanted to make sure the people who went to Sojourn had somewhere to eat after it closed,” said Botkin.
After Botkin spoke with the folks at Long Walk Farm in Council Bluffs, word got to McLarney and Farris that a café space would soon be available. Having grown up spending a great deal of time at Lisa’s Radial Café and having already established themselves in the Omaha food scene, the sisters’ interest was piqued. They reached out, and everything went into motion.
Things moved quickly after that, as the three met up in what Botkin called a “business blind date.”
“We easily fell into step with each other,” Botkin added. “All of us aren’t afraid of working hard.”
And work hard, they did. They originally met in January of 2023, Sojourn Café closed in the end of March, and Lemon Tree Café opened for business on April 12. It was a whirlwind of activity. The three women joke that they canvassed the streets of Ralston searching for serving staff, though in reality, they brought in some family members to help out until they were able to staff the café fully.
The three women were convinced it would take weeks before the café “took off,” but luckily it was an immediate smash.
McLarney was surprised and delighted by how quickly the Ralston community embraced Lemon Tree Café. “Our first week, the people just showed up and showered us with support. I can’t tell you how much that means.”
“It took us three to four weeks before we even had time to answer the phone when it rang,” added Botkin with a laugh. She said they were so busy running the café in the beginning that they’d hear the phone ring, momentarily feel giddy that someone was calling, but then had to get back to running the café.
What’s the secret to the rapid success of Lemon Tree Café? While some might argue that it’s the friendly, welcoming nature of the three owners, many will assert that it’s the food. They serve both breakfast and lunch foods, and when asked to describe the style of food they serve, McLarney started listing some descriptions after a brief pause: “Traditional diner food, elevated. Inspired. Americana.”
“It’s an amalgamation of the traditional feed we learned from our mom. And growing up, our family adventures always centered on food. Jen and I are lucky that we had food creativity gifted to us by our parents.”
After more consideration, she added, “It’s not branding. We cook what we want to eat and cook. It’s the stuff we’d make if you came over for brunch at our house.”
Farris and McLarney’s mother’s influence on the menu is undeniable and indelible. “Our pancakes are great, but we don’t tell anyone, because they’re big and they take up the whole grill,” they joked. Pancakes are a favorite at Lisa’ Radial Café, so it’s no surprise they would appear on the Lemon Tree Café menu.
McLarney tells the story of how her mother used to “bribe” her to bus tables at Lisa’s Radial Café with promises of her stuffed French toast. Not surprisingly, that same item is a signature dish at Lemon Tree Café—but now it’s Farris’ turn to put her own spin on the dish.
“Jen’s stuffed French toast is amazing,” McLarney said. “She has this strawberry and lemon curd combination that uses pure, real fruit. It’s real flavor.”
They also serve salads and burgers that are quickly becoming favorites among the regulars. Their chicken salad stands out as a favorite, and one regular discovered that if he adds chicken salad to his BLT, the flavor combination is next-level.
The chicken salad, which features grapes, was inspired by Farris and McLarney’s style of cooking. “Businessmen will come in, order the chicken salad, and get excited about the grapes. It’s a mom thing,” said McLarney, explaining that the little touches in the menu items remind many of their customers of home cooking.
The staff at Lemon Tree Café makes their own sauces and patties for their burgers by hand. They don’t try to be something they’re not. Instead, they serve good food that they themselves want to eat–and that customers clamor for and enjoy.
As for Botkin, who is new to the restaurant business, she’s quickly discovered that her favorite part of her day is visiting with the customers. “We have a fabulous crew of regulars,” she said. She also enjoys having been “adopted” by her new “sisters,” Farris and McLarney.
The three owners agree that opening Lemon Tree Café has been a “labor of love,” but it has been well worth the effort. They brought something back to Downtown Ralston that was obviously wanted and needed by the community: a neighborhood café.
“We’re feeding our family and friends,” said McLarney. “We don’t know how to do anything but awesome.”
Lemon Tree Café is located at 7614 Main Street in Ralston. For more information visit facebook.com/p/Lemontreeneb-100091305221236.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2024 issue of Omaha Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
