Discover Sonoma County's best-kept breakfast secret
OCCIDENTAL, Calif. -- Nestled in the quaint downtown of Occidental, California, visitors will discover one of Sonoma County's best-kept breakfast secrets.
"It's very welcoming and warm, and you kind of feel like it's a home away from home in every sense of the word," longtime customer Zoe says.
"It's great for kids, family friendly," regular Tara says.
Howard's Station Cafe, regularly named best breakfast in Sonoma County, has a rich, local history dating back to 1876.
"The restaurant, which opened in 1982, was named Howard Station Cafe after the actual train station that used to go right through the middle of the town of Occidental," owner Jacki Wilson says. "Dutch "Bill" Howard... this was where he lived. He was the founder of the town."
Wilson, who recently took over the cafe, has a personal connection to the business.
"My dad was the original opener of this restaurant in 1982. He opened it. I grew up working here. I started working here when I was 13 years old," Wilson says. "So I stepped in about seven months ago and took it over."
Howard's Station Cafe serves up classic breakfast dishes like eggs Benedict with homemade hollandaise sauce, chilaquiles made from scratch, red and green sauce, and of course, a signature dish on the menu, the "Double Decker".
"The double-decker is two waffles layered together with everything good you can imagine in between them," Zoe says.
"It's stacked with peanut butter, banana, our homemade whipped cream, which is just amazing. Like, honestly, you don't even need syrup," Wilson says.
"Kind of making it into sort of the world's largest and most indulgent sandwich for breakfast," Zoe says.
If you find yourself traveling out towards the coast or the redwoods, Howard's Station Cafe is the perfect stop for a bite.
"You're not going to find anything like this anywhere else. And it's tucked into the most beautiful area of Sonoma County, in my opinion," Zoe says.
For more information, visit https://howardstationcafe.com/.
