What began as a coffee cart outside the Coronado Cays canal front business complex has grown into a family-oriented restaurant in the last 10 years. And more positive changes are coming to Calypso Cafe.
Starting on Wednesday, October 2, the restaurant will begin serving dinner from Tuesday to Saturday until 9 pm. A new Happy Hour menu will provide a selection of discounted wines, beers, and appetizers.
The interior and exterior of Calypso Café are also undergoing renovations and expanding the restaurant space. Owner, Hanan Martha, is excited about these transformations. “Business is doing really well,” Martha said. “It’s a family place and we are aiming to get more customers in the door [with these changes].”
Martha’s cafe has taken over a former architect’s office space for the dining area expansion. It also allows her to enlarge the waterfront patio seating that overlooks the Cays canal. She states that her vision is to provide more dining options for families with children, but this also includes furry family members (the patio is “dog friendly”).
In the future, Martha hopes to acquire some industrial slow cookers for preparing homemade dog food. According to her, the selection would include beef, chicken, and seafood canine cuisines.
While the interior décor will undergo a little change, Martha still wants to maintain a “country-like” feel for the space.
In the coming weeks and months, the business will continue to diversify its offerings. A small market will be set up in the restaurant selling milk, produce, homemade breads, deli meats, and firewood.
“We want to cater to the needs of our community. Cays residents have to travel far to get many products—either going to Imperial Beach or the Village for these things,” said Martha.
Now residents of the Cays and even Silver Strand housing will have a closer option to grab that milk or fruit they forgot at the grocery store.
Calypso Café also provides catering and Martha states they have done events for the Navy and even held small weddings at their eclectic eatery. She believes the expansion will increase the opportunity for private events.
The grand opening for the expansion and renovation will happen in three weeks, according to Martha. She looks forward to providing a wine tasting and live music to celebrate the grand occasion.
But for now, patrons can still frequent the café for breakfast/lunch fare and beverages (check out Hanan Martha’s original coffee creation in our recent taste-testing article).
And if you can’t drive or bike there, you can always pull your boat into their “dock & dine” space in Cays canal.
Here’s a Greek mythology lesson: Calypso was a nymph and Oceanid daughter who lived on an island. According to Homer’s Odyssey, she detained Odysseus for seven years in an attempt to make him her immortal husband.
