‘Abundance of love’ welcomes new downtown eatery as Modesto couple open neighborhood cafe
While downtown Modesto’s newest restaurant Lucille has only been open a little more than a week, the intimate eatery already feels like an old neighborhood friend.
The H Street cafe, a few doors down from Phoenix Noodle House, is open for breakfast and lunch six days a week serving scratch-made comfort foods and original creations. The endeavor is a true labor of love from married owners Marissa and Wyatt Smith, area restaurant veterans who have decided to strike out on their own.
The small space, which only has capacity for about 25, already has had lines out the door since opening late last month.
“We’ve had an abundance of love flooding us through our doors and also online,” said Marissa, 31.
What those people are finding once inside is an intentionally simple menu of carefully crafted offerings. All of the pastries and biscuits are baked in house, and all the jams, sauces and syrups are also from scratch.
Folks in the neighborhood have already taken notice and become regulars. That includes Modesto resident Leticia Vidabel, who has been to Lucille twice in the past week. On Friday, she brought her 2-year-old son, Camilo, with her to enjoy a cookie on a drizzly day.
“I wanted to bring him back for a little date, it’s so nice and cozy and fun in here,” said Vidabel, who lives within walking distance of the cafe.
Until the restaurant’s commercial hood system is installed, the kitchen will have slightly limited capacity. So they’re using a commercial commissary and temporarily outsourcing some of their breads, including brioche and sourdough, from a regional bakery. The Smiths hope to have that project completed in a couple of months, and then begin baking all their own items. You can also help hurry it along with their “Hood Fund” tip jar on the counter.
Since opening, some menu favorites are already starting to emerge. Their signature breakfast items (called “brekky”and served all day) include the Benny on a Bun (poached egg with hollandaise sauce, bacon and white cheddar on a brioche bun for $12) and the South x Southwest breakfast sandwich (scrambled eggs, linguica, green chile aioli and sharp cheddar on a house-made buttermilk biscuit for $12).
Popular lunch sandwiches (served after 11 a.m.) include the Theee P & H (named after the plumbers who worked on the restaurant, made with turkey, bacon, pepperjack cheese, avocado, tomato, white cheddar and Calabrian pepper aioli on a bolillo bread for $14) and the Lombardo (two types of salami, arugula, tomato, pepperoncini with vinega and Calabrian pepper aioli on a hoagie roll for $15).
Naming menu items after their plumbers, Phil and Hector, is just one of the many homey touches at Lucille. Another is the name itself, which comes from Wyatt’s grandmother who was named Ruby Lucille, and their 3-year-old daughter, Rez Lucille. Photos of Ruby are hung around the restaurant, including a large black-and-white shot of her and her husband, John Toews, on their wedding day in Atwater in 1946.
Wyatt said it was their daughter who helped inspire their new place. As they started to cook for her they wanted to make sure only high-quality ingredients and healthier options were being used. But that doesn’t mean Lucille serves only health food, but instead more whole and unprocessed foods are used whenever possible.
The menu’s indulgences include its accurately named H Street Block, a block-sized slice of blueberry French Toast casserole, and their daily cookies, muffins and other sweet treats. You can also order specialty espresso drinks hot and cold, as well as wine and beer.
The latter is an extension of the couple’s wine subscription service, Bestie Club + Bottle (formerly Scout Wines which launched in 2020). The name change was necessary after the Smiths received a cease-and-desist copyright letter from another wine service out of Colorado. Unfazed, Marissa said the new name actually fits better with the welcoming look and feel they are going for with Lucille.
The restaurant now serves as home base for Bestie, offering members a site for their monthly wine pickups and nonmembers can also purchase wine and beer by the bottle/can. They’ve already started hosting club events in the space after hours, and hope to do more member and general public events in the future. The space can also be rented for private parties.
The pair, who met while working at downtown Modesto’s Dewz restaurant in 2011, have been married for the past seven years. Before opening Lucille, Marissa and Wyatt worked at Camp 4 Wine Cafe and Redwood Cafe, respectively.
The Smiths want to take their experience working at some of the area’s best known restaurants to their own new venture. And, they’ve got a five-year plan to open their another larger, full-service restaurant down the road — named after another family member.
For now, they’re happy to be the newest neighborhood gathering spot, where despite its small size you’ll likely run into someone you know while grabbing something delicious to eat.
“We just want to be a place for the neighborhood, of course we want people from out of town (too),” said Wyatt, 35. “(We’re) just a little local pocket, corner for people to hang out.”
Lucille, at 1218 H St., is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and closed Sunday. For more information call 209-404-4705 or visit gooddaylucille.com. For more on Bestie Club + Bottle visit bestieclubandbottle.com.
This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
