News Highlights

Del's Cafe closing after 40 years

Will reopen with new owner

Del's Cafe, a lower North Mankato landmark started nearly 40 years ago by three Minnesota State Mankato food service workers, will soon change its name.

2008-01-18
By Tim Krohn, Free Press Staff Writer [published in The Free Press, Mankato, MN, 1/17/2008]

Photo by John Cross Royce Behnke is closing Del's Cafe in lower North Mankato after 37 years.

Del's Cafe, a lower North Mankato landmark for nearly 40 years, is closing Feb. 1.

Royce Behnke has run the Belgrade Avenue cafe since 1970, serving breakfasts and lunches.

But the building, which has housed a restaurant since the early 1900s, won't sit empty. Husband and wife Mark Levitt and Carmen Christy will renovate the building and open a new cafe, called Christys, in late February.

Behnke, 58, got into the restaurant business in 1970 by chance.

"When I was going to MSU, I worked at the college food service there."

Three men with ties to the college food service had just opened Del's Cafe in North Mankato and asked Behnke to work there as a cook. In 1971, the three decided to get out of the business and sold the cafe to Behnke.

Del's has always been open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Behnke is best known for his hashbrowns, omelets and beef commercials.

Carl Barke, having lunch at Del's on Wednesday, said he'll miss the cafe.

"It's one of the last places you get home-cooked food. I grew up on a farm. It reminds me of that. It's maybe not the healthiest, but it has flavor."

"His American fries and omelets are good, and you get a lot."

Barke, a local plumber, said he remembers the heydays of Del's in the 1970s. "You'd come in on the weekends and you'd have to wait to sit down. A lot of people would party the night before, and Del's was the place to go the next morning."

Behnke recalls those times well.

Especially the People's Fair music fest, where thousands of people spent a summer weekend in Sibley Park.

"They'd party out there all night, then come in and eat and heal up and head back and drink some more. In the morning there'd be kids in the bathroom here brushing their teeth and washing up. It was quite a time."

But Behnke has seen business fall off to a trickle in recent years and competition increase.

"When I started, there weren't many around. Bobby Joe's (Pub) wasn't even serving food yet." Behnke said.

"Now there are so many restaurants in town, it's unbelievable. And they bring more in all the time."

Behnke's wife, Vickie, died two years ago. She made cakes and did catering.

After four decades of coming in early and heating up the grill for breakfast, Behnke said he's unsure about the future.

"It's going to be tough not doing this anymore. It's going to be a big adjustment," he said.

"I'll have to find a job. Something in the industry, I imagine."

Behnke owns the building and will lease it to Levitt and Christy with the idea they will eventually buy it.

After renovating the building, they plan to open Christys Cafe in late February.

Levitt and Christy, who moved to North Mankato from Cape Cod with son Owen, say their family is committed to bringing a fresh approach to the community.

Levitt is originally from Massachusetts and his father was in the military, so they lived around the country. Chirsty grew up in South Dakota.

Christy's mom, Phyllis Christy, recently moved from South Dakota to North Mankato as well and will be helping in the new venture.

Mark has held a variety of business, management and sales positions, while Carmen and her mom have been in the food industry.

"I was with several restaurants in the Boston area and worked under some great chefs," Carmen said. Starting a cafe has been her lifelong dream.

Phyllis has worked in institutional kitchens, including a hospital and assisted-living home.

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