TLH Eats: Olean's Cafe on Adams Street feeding souls and stomachs

EDITOR'S NOTE:This is our first TLH Eats column, a new feature profiling local restaurants. It also dovetails with the TLH 200: Gerald Ensley Memorial Bicentennial Project, which re-examines our city's history 200 years after its birth.

At just 14-years-old, Olean McCaskill, owner of Olean's Cafe, knew hospitality was her calling and food was the answer.

The cafeteria style restaurant McCaskill has built has become more than just a place to grab a generous plate of southern fare or a comforting touch of home, it is also designated as a safe haven by those who've traveled far and wide for more than what's served on a plate.

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McCaskill, fueled with passion and hungry to serve, worked to pursue her dreams of having her name known by the masses, just from a bite of her perfected dishes.

In the 80's, McCaskill looked at the building on South Adams Street, formerly recognized as a part of Mahalia Jackson’s fried chicken franchise, and told her sister that one day the building would be hers.

A "For Lease" sign posted years later signaled an answer to her prayers after years of working in kitchens and saving her money. Bold in her faith, she called the leasing company telling them that no matter who put a bid on the property, it would ultimately be hers.

Be careful what you wish for, she advised me, because everything she worked for would come to fruition in the citrus orange and agricultural green decorated building.

"This is what I wanted," she said. "I'm grateful to serve the public all these years. It feels good, treating them like your children."

Tallahassee celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, and although the city may have changed after all that time, the beloved "Mrs. O" or "Mama O", as all her "children" refer to her, has not since opening her location in 1997.

"Grandma always said, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it," she leans in with a whisper as people make their way out the cafe.

Thanking God for the gift he's granted her, she says her restaurant is her ministry.

Every day, McCaskill wakes up at 3 a.m., early enough to fuel her day with prayers and scripture. By 5 a.m., she's up cooking.

Hearty platters of soul food, that you can almost split into two meals, are offered daily. The breakfast menu includes grits, eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, toast and more. Lunch consists of her specialty fried chicken, black-eyed peas, mac and cheese and greens served with a fluffy corn muffin to complement.

Beverages, including lemonade, tea and 'Jesus Passion Juice,' a secret concoction she won't share, tops off the meal, totaling around $10 a plate.

Breakfast is served fresh at 7 a.m., lunch is served shortly after, until the doors close at 2 p.m. She's operated the same schedule for last three decades.

"Every morning, I'm getting up, coming to work and I might be tired, but this is what I asked for," she said.

In an intimate interview following a recent lunch shift, McCaskill shared memories of her upbringing. After moving to Tallahassee at the age of 12 from Conecuh County, Alabama, she helped her grandfather pick vegetables, fruits and harvest tobacco after school for a few dollars.

As a teenager, she worked in commercial kitchens, mastering the art and skill of her craft.

"I loved it," she said about cooking. "The thing about it is, it's like an art, you can build it and you can take it down."

When asked what the biggest difference is between the Tallahassee she was raised in versus Tallahassee now, she couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but she offered an observation: "Tallahassee has changed tremendously," she said. "People had more love for one another."

The long table adjacent to the register which sits at the front of the cafe, is designated as her personal prayer table, a sanctuary in the midst of the busy restaurant.

McCaskill would gather prayer requests from conversations throughout the day, including from students who would travel down from the hills of Florida A&M University across the street looking for comfort in a plate and an encouraging word.

It's a resource I wish I would have used during my undergrad years. But she said students don't ask as often anymore, signaling a shift.

"If I can help, I will," she said.

In conversations with parents in the community, she said she lets them know as well that their students have a safe space.

"They were happy to know someone cares for them. You can always come down that hill; you might be tired going back up, but you can always come down here if you need to."

Guests are greeted and treated like family, with staff making sure you get enough food to eat and adding their recommendations if your plate is a little light. While waiting for a platter, you're bound to reunite with an old friend or family member as everyone gathers for supper in the earliest times of the day.

Florida A&M artifacts, Bible scriptures, pictures of historical Black figures and articles decorating the walls make the spot cozy, and the few tables inside make the space more intimate.

McCaskill told me that as long as we carry love in our hearts, we can give it back and be rewarded tenfold. So, she says she will continue to get up every morning, cooking, serving more 'Jesus Passion Juice' and spreading love to those who have the opportunity to visit.

"You just have to continue doing the same things you started out with, the first go-round. Keep working no matter how bad things get, you still have to do what you gotta do," she encouraged.

If you go

Where: 1605 S. Adams St.

When: 7 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday to Friday; 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday

Kyla A Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. New restaurant opening up, special deals, or events coming up? Let me know at ksanford@tallahassee.com. You can also email your suggestions for a future TLH Eats restaurant profile.