Mimi's Café

A compact, fully equipped kitchen supports breakfast, lunch and dinner preparation for up to 1,000 customers a day. The key is a design that maximizes efficiency.

By Donna Boss, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 12/1/2006

A slanted tile roof, bright flowers, awnings and coats of lemon-yellow paint create a building resembling a French country cottage.

In an attempt to combine the quality, ambiance and personal service assets of a dinner house with the convenience and value of a coffee shop, the Simms family opened the first Mimi’s Cafe in 1978 in Anaheim, Calif. The European-style country-cottage restaurant offering generous portions of fresh food for breakfast, lunch and dinner was named after a French woman Arthur J. Simms fell in love with at the end of World War II in a small town near Versailles, France. In 2004, Bob Evans Farms Inc. purchased Mimi’s Cafe, which had grown to include 26 units.

Today, this “upscale family dining” chain continues to offer eclectic cuisine at 105 locations in 18 states, most of which are located at or near centers with regional retail draws, strong daytime populations and a dense, growing residential backup.

Many customers’ first impression of Mimi’s is that it resembles a colorful French country cottage. Inside, each dining section has a distinct ambiance that displays vibrant colors on the walls and in fabrics and jazzy art inspired by New Orleans’ Mardi Gras-style graphics. Antique stone floors, brick walls, wood floors and beamed Photos courtesy of Mimi’s ceilings are combined to emphasize a warm, family friendly ambiance in the more casual, 77-seat Garden Room with 18-foot-high ceilings, the more formal, 80-seat Bistro Room, the rustic, 35-seat Wine Cellar Room with a barrel ceiling, and the 15- to 20-seat lobby and wine bar. An outside patio seats 25 guests. Together the rooms comprise 7,000-square-feet.

Brick walls, French Quarter-style graphics, etched-glass booth dividers, brown and white checkered tablecloths and orange booth-style seats create a comfortable environment. Photos courtesy of Mimi’s Cafe

Throughout the cafes, the selection of materials such as granite tabletops and bar tops, hardwood finishes on trim and table edges, and durable, blended environment. Interior touches such as decorative lights, recessed lighting with low voltage operated on a dimmer system, pendants, colored glass fixtures and checkered tablecloths also contribute to the eclectic ambiance.

Though the 2,000-square-foot kitchen is not open to the dining rooms, a window in the Bistro Room allows diners to watch the energetic movement of cooks working in the kitchen. “We had to close the window itself, however, because the noise was disruptive,” says Luis Rosa, Mimi’s director of construction, who has an engineering background and joined the chain two years ago after working with such companies as Claim Jumper and Black Angus.

In the future, newer designs will continue to be more “upscale,” according to Adam Baird, Mimi’s executive chef. “The newer kitchens contain an L-shaped pantry area, whereas in the older design there is a straight line, and the desserts and dinner salads are plated by the server,” he says.

Staff receive deliveries in a covered loading dock area and place them into dry storage or a walk-in cooler or freezer. Menu items such as soups, sauces, salad dressing, mayonnaise created for Mimi’s and dessert mixes are prepared in a commissary located in Fullerton, near the corporate office, and shipped to all units. Deliveries for other ingredients, such as chicken, potatoes and vegetables, come directly to the units.

In the Garden Room, a high ceiling with wood beams and a menu board hanging 18 feet above the ground produce an open, airy atmosphere. High-backed chairs with fabric cushions, booth seating, brick walls, French Quarter graphics, pendant lighting, balcony seating at one end and brown and white checkered tablecloths all contribute to the cheery dining ambiance.

“Most of the kitchen equipment is custom-fabricated stainlesssteel,” Rosa says. “We made this selection for increased durability and it allows us to custom-design kitchens for maximum efficiency per square foot.”

Efficiency is the key element for a productive kitchen, Baird agrees. “Whatever the layout, flow and movement are the two essential elements. Cooks should be set in place, fully prepared to focus on cooking the food. Excess space and movement is not a good thing. For example, when a cook turns around, this creates inefficiencies. Everything should be within reach.”

“The kitchen is ergonomically efficient so staff must walk only a few steps from station to station,” Rosa adds. “Also, one person can work two stations at any given time.”

As for flow, Baird says, “The movement of cooks and plates should always be linear and heading towards the slide area or the guest. Plates must move toward the guest.”

In Mimi’s kitchens, prep areas sit directly in front of the storage areas: One is fit with a small prep table, sinks and a slicer, and another has a bakery prep table and double-door convection oven with transit racks for cooking bakery items such as carrot walnut bread and muffins, buttermilk spice and pumpkin spice muffins, and to slow-cook beef short ribs, jumbo lamb shanks and baby back ribs. The oven also bakes quiche, desserts and Parmesan croutons. Another station contains a prep table and holding oven for cooking protein such as fresh-roasted turkey. Salad and lettuce prep takes place in a section with a small prep table, a threecompartment sink and salad spinner.

In the kitchen, left to right, are a three-compartment sink, a hot-holding cabinet, prep tables and a small mixer, a fourburner range and a cheesemelter above, a flat top, a two-burner range and double-stacked convection ovens.

Also in the back, staff use a 20- quart mixer to whip mashed potatoes as needed, prepare the potato cake mixture, refresh muffin mixes before baking them and whip margarine and butter. Hot-holding cabinets slowcook turkeys and hold dishes such as chicken pot pies, mashed potatoes and other side dishes.

A hot prep area contains a steamer for vegetables, including breakfast potatoes, a six-burner range for the sauté station with an oven below, and prep tables.

On the opposite side of the cook’s line are a 36-inch charbroiler for preparing steaks, shrimp, asparagus and chicken breasts, a flat grill for breakfast potatoes, and a two-burner sauté station for stirfry and wok-fired items. In the center of the line are two fryers for making hand-breaded items requiring lower temperatures such as cod and chicken Parmesan, and high-temperature items such as crab cakes. In the older units, this station adjoins the cold salad station.

In the middle of the hot line is a 48-inch groove griddle with a cheesemelter above for cooking seafood and meatloaf chimbatta sandwiches. Staff use a six-burner open range for pastas, pan sauces and eggs. A refrigerated cabinet at the end of the line holds condiments needed for dish preparation.

Cold pans are filled with garnishes and side dishes so staff can plate quickly.

Further toward the front of the kitchen are steam tables that hold pot roast, sauces, mashed potatoes, Jasmine rice, au jus, stuffing, roasted turkey and black beans. An adjacent cold rail contains condiments and garnishes. Also near the pass-thru are stations with prep tables, microwaves and ice cream wells for dessert and salad prep.

In all units, staff also use mobile, plug-in waffle makers for breakfast prep. In some units, these are placed within the broiler station and removed by noon each day so the space can be used for lunch and dinner prep, explains Baird.

Continuing to keep customers happy with their favorite items and new, seasonal dishes for pumpkin pancake breakfasts and other themed celebrations, as well as meals for community group meetings and fundraisers that support many philanthropic community organizations, will continue to challenge Baird and the entire foodservice staff at Mimi’s Cafe. Durable equipment will play a major role in propelling the chain into what promises to be a solid, expansive future.