Chamber Business Spotlight
By Tyler Lamb
Editor
Typically when you ask a chef for their sources of inspiration, you’ll often hear of another chef’s inventive meals, or maybe the story of a visit to France where the flavors of foie gras and truffle-infused sauces were brought to life with a sip of Château Margaux.
Ask Joanne Benkowski of The Essential Café & Bistro about her inspiration for a life dedicated to the culinary arts and you’ll get a different story.
After losing her job at a Madison consulting firm in 2012, where she worked as a resource manager, Benkowski opted to switch gears from the corporate world to a life based on nature’s more essentials elements.
“My son, Nathanael, was also in between jobs at the time, so I felt like I was at a crossroads,” Benkowski recalled. “I wanted to do something I enjoyed for a change outside the red tape of corporate bureaucracy. I ran the idea of a café past my son, and he said he thought it would be cool.”
The quaint café, situated at 21 S. Wisconsin St., opened its doors to the public a little more than year ago. Since its inception Benkowski said The Essential Café & Bistro has been focused on providing organic, nutritious homemade meals for the citizens of Elkhorn.
“I’ve always been into nature and natural products,” Benkowski said. “I’ve always been into organics, and so I wanted to incorporate that here.
“The whole idea of the Essential Café and Bistro stemmed from just the essentials that are needed,” she continued. “That ties into the organic, it ties into the essential oils I use, it ties into the idea of no preservatives or additives. Just real food, farm-to-table.”
Stepping into this downtown café one’s senses are instantly engaged by a myriad of calming fragrances and the full-bodied smell of home-cooked nourishment.
Once inside patrons are welcomed in by the mother-son duo who work feverishly behind a lavish 25-foot oak countertop preparing, chopping and blending. It is here that patrons also receive a front-row seat to the careful preparation of their meal, if they so choose, as Benkowski’s kitchen is visible to the public.
“I don’t think we would have evolved to where we are today if I was in a kitchen that was out of sight,” Benkowski said. “I don’t like to be the center of attention, but I also don’t like being tucked away. I want to be able to converse with people.
“Having this long bar allows me to converse with someone who is single or here alone. I feel it makes people more comfortable to come in here and have a conversation. Plus you have open access to my kitchen as I prepare food.”
Thus far, Benkowski said business has been “good.” Yet, the local business owner says the term “organic” tends to throw some people for a loop.
“I will admit that Elkhorn is a hard town. However, our target audience are individuals who are already health minded,” Benkowski said. “I think the real food concept is something that needs to be taught. A lot of people don’t realize how processed their foods are now-at-days. It’s what contributed to a lot of health issues and things of that nature.
“The response from the community has been great, but our success here has been more slow moving than other restaurants because my overhead for ingredients is much higher than other restaurants,” she added.
The café also boasts a tasty variety of coffee and Rishi teas.
“We have something for everyone on the menu. I think if people gave us a try they would really enjoy us,” Benkowski said.
“There have been a lot of people who have come in and said ‘There’s a lot of organic on here.’ I tell them to try it, and then they are walking out telling me how glad they are that they stopped in.”
The Essential Bistro & Café is open Monday – Thursday from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.
For daily specials, call Benkowski at (262) 723-1500, or visit www.essentialcafebistro.com, or find The Essential Café & Bistro on Facebook.
