You see the liveliness and this explosion of life it’s amazing to watch. It is really great to see this downtown area thriving. And the summer life of this town is always a unique experience. If we are short on something and need to dash over to someone else for it, they are happy to help. If someone runs out of something and needs to borrow it from us, they know they can.
Sure, we’re in competition, but we also help each other out all the time. All the restaurants downtown and in Bozeman support each other. TC: But the small town, food community feel here is really great. We love the mountain biking, skiing, all those outdoor activities. KC: And we of course love anything outdoors. 13 years later, here we are!ĬM: What do you enjoy most about being a part of Bozeman and the food community here?
#Cateye cafe trial
We said we would do it on a trial basis because, you know, we wanted to see if we could really do it, if we could make it work. Kevin had worked there for five or six years and Christina wanted to know if we wanted to buy the place. TC: As for our time with Cateye, we got a call from Christina, the original owner about a business opportunity. I’ve run a kitchen, I’ve bussed, I’ve pretty much done it all. I mean, I get a meal and a break? I thought that was great! I remember working at the original Bacchus Pub in the Baxter, and sitting down to those delicious spaghetti and meatballs was such a perk of the job! I also worked at John Bozeman’s Bistro in the 80s and 90s, and at the Spanish Peaks for about nine years before they closed. It was unique to think of this as a job though. So, it was easy for me to just step into the restaurant business. She stayed home, cooked and cleaned, the kids always helping out, and it just kind of became what I do and what I know. KC: Yeah, my mom was a great cook, so it is kind of in my blood. He was the baby in his family of seven children, and his mom was a great cook. TC: Well, Kevin had been working in the restaurant business since he was 16. I assured them I had been in many times before, and from there we were off on our little culinary storytelling adventure.ĬM: What made you want to get into the restaurant business? They asked me if I had ever eaten at the Cateye before. For another first, they actually asked me a question before I was able to question them about anything.
They ribbed me about being late, but laughed it off and pulled up a chair for me. They were seated around a table in the quiet of the closed restaurant with their friend Deb. Instantly, I was treated like an old friend. Add to that feeling of the unknown that I was late for our interview for the first time since I started writing for Bozeman Magazine, and I was a bit flustered.
So, stepping into the cozy Cateye on a cloudy November afternoon, I didn’t know what to expect of them. But, I had never met the owners, Tina and Kevin Caracciolo, before this interview. Many a morning have I spent there with girlfriends laughing over bubbly mimosas, and I often take out-of-town guests and family there for the true morning treat: banana bread French toast. Now, the Cateye Café isn’t new to me by any means. Do you know that feeling when you just instantly click with someone you’ve never met before? There’s trepidation in going to a new place or meeting someone new, and if they are able to help in some way by cutting through that nervousness quickly and with minimal effort, you find yourself having fun before you even realize it.