Sweethearts of the Kitchen -- Diane & Tom's Cafe

             Twenty years ago, Diane and Tom Barnette started their own catering business from the back of a lunch truck on Chelten Avenue. Today, they own Diane and Tom’s Café and Professional Catering Services at Maplewood Mall. In those twenty years, learning the ins and outs of the restaurant business has been “intense” for the couple.

“The food industry is very intense,” says Diane Barnette, “It’s all about being ‘up’ – get up, set up, stock up, cook up, serve up, and clean up. You can’t just like it, you got to love it.”

Recalling their history, it seems that Diane and Tom have moved on “up” since their humble beginnings when they first met.

Diane and Tom met at Pennsylvania Hospital at 9^th and Spruce Streets. Diane was a dietary aide. Tom worked there in the morning part-time, in addition to being head chef at the now-closed Top of Centre Square restaurant on Market Street. Tom’s shift at the restaurant would usually last until 3 o’clock in the morning.

When Diane learned how late Tom would stay at the Top of Centre Square, she willingly helped Tom so that he could go home early. Diane would help do the restaurant’s inventory, payroll, and stock ordering. Inadvertently, helping Tom during his late nights would prepare Diane for the restaurant business.

“Tom taught me a lot,” Diane recalled about working with Tom at the Top of Centre Square, “I was a free employee; Tom would get me a sandwich. People thought I actually worked there… I was just there to help him get out early so that he wouldn’t be there at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning. It helped out a lot because when I had to really do it [for the Café], I understood what I needed to do.”

            Diane’s sister, who lives in Germantown, suggested that she open up a food cart near her. Diane took the advice to heart – she quit her job at the hospital and bought a cart to sell food at little league baseball games throughout Germantown. But she did not just offer hot dogs; Tom gave her recipes so that she could serve Cajun shrimp, Swedish meatballs, and hot roast beef sandwiches.

 When she earned enough money from the food cart, Diane opened up a lunch truck on Chelten Avenue and Tom joined her. In 1991, they officially formed Diane and Tom’s Café and Professional Catering Services as their business.

During the three years they had at the lunch truck, Diane and Tom realized that they wanted to go into the food business together at a stable restaurant and began looking for a permanent location. They first opened a restaurant at 26 Maplewood Mall. They leased that location for six and a half years before 2000, when they moved to and bought 40 Maplewood Mall, the current building where Diane and Tom’s Café is.

            Diane and Tom’s Café also caters charter schools in the area, offering lunches to over 1400 students. They have served at The Mathematics, Civics, and Sciences Charter School (MCSCS) for 12 years, the youth-service organization VisionQuest for 9 years, and at Khepera Charter School for 3 years.

            “They’re getting good food from a good place, where people care about what they’re doing, and I know it’s better than pre-packaged foods. We cook with a lot of love. We enjoy what we’re doing and I know our food comes out better,” says Diane.

            In addition to the school children, Diane and Tom have catered to Philadelphian boxer Bernard Hopkins, former Pennsylvanian Governor Ed Rendell, and 105.3 FM Radio WDAS Disc Jockeys Patti Jackson and Gary Sheppard. The Café was also featured on WTXF FOX 29 by Janet Zapolo and on WCAU NBC 10 by Steve Levy.

            Yael Johnson, who is Diane’s goddaughter, has worked with the café periodically since 1996. She is currently the cashier and assistant to Diane.

            “Many people think it’s tough to work with family, but this café is one big happy family,” says Yael with a smile, “I’ve worked at places where there are barriers to meeting the owner; here, the buck doesn’t stop with me, it goes to [Diane and Tom].”

            Together, the “family” of Diane and Tom’s Café prepares delicious food and is looking to keep the restaurant strong by working in the business they enjoy. Diane and Tom love each other and the café they started together.

“Tom is a softie,” says Diane, “but he holds down the kitchen, and I don’t step on his toes. He does his area, I do mine, and we get along. He’s my best friend.”

Diane and Tom’s Café is located at 40 Maplewood Mall in Germantown. They are open 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM Tuesday and Wednesday and 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM Thursday through Saturday. They are closed Sundays and Mondays, and are closed for a summer break from the third week of July to the third week of August.