Camaraderie Café

Ellendale has always had Ellendale Café, a small-town eatery which embodies the homey, simple atmosphere its name suggests. LeeAnn Knudson has been an owner/operator of the business for four years and continues to create a lively environment with her lively personality and all her seasonal gnomes.

 

Knudson grew up in Chicago but moved to small-town Minnesota when she found love at 22. She said she has always been grateful she could work at the Ellendale Café and still raise her children.

 

But in 2020, Knudson left temporarily when her former boss, Judy Davidson did. Ellendale Café didn’t seem to be the same place without Davidson, who had become a “work mom” to Knudson. Knudson rented out the space to someone else, but that business didn’t last very long; by 2022, she made a call and asked what would be done with the space.

 

In return, she received another question: “Want to buy it?”

 

And Knudson agreed.

 

Decorations play a huge part in how Knudson has made Ellendale Café her own. She observed that previous owners sometimes did not pay much attention to the company’s decor. But for Knudson, it’s different.

 

“It’s my home!” Knudson said, enthused.

 

She keeps the place down-to-earth, too. One reason she doesn’t accept any payment other than cash or checks is to bring back the nostalgia of an old, small-town restaurant. When customers enter Ellendale Café, they experience that atmosphere, beginning with the mixed aromas drifting through the air.

 

Everything she cooks is homemade: the hashbrowns, soups, gravies, and cinnamon rolls. The hot beef commercial remains particularly popular.

 

But there are times when Knudson has customers who come unprepared and don’t notice the sign of “checks or cash only” until they’ve eaten. But she has given them grace.

 

“You know what I do?” she asked. “I give them my address and they sign a sheet with their phone number and I put it in my charge box. I tell them, ‘If the food was good enough, you’ll pay.’”

 

Knudson said every one of those customers, so far, has paid.

 

“Here’s what I say in the end – if it means I fed someone for the day, I’m okay with that,” she added. “I’m not going to get rich here, but this is my happy place. And if I can make someone’s day, that makes me even happier.”

 

As Knudson made the place her own, gnomes worked their way into her heart. When she saw a gnome that she thought was cute, she picked it up. Then, as time went on, her friends noticed her affinity for gnomes and began gifting them to her. As the holidays roll along, different gnomes find their way to the shelves, from Christmas to Valentine’s Day to St. Patrick’s.

 

Whenever customers, old or new, come in, the decorations become something to focus their attention on. “[Conversation about gnomes] never gets old,” Knudson said. “I’ll hear a lot of people talk about their collections and how it started with their great-grandma who used to collect those garden Norwegian or Scandinavian gnomes.”

 

But no matter what the conversation is, she treats everyone who comes through her door with as much love as if she were serving them at home. She says that, for her, it’s the same thing.

“No matter who they are or what walks of life they come from, they’re welcome,” Knudson said.

 

One of the groups she looks forward to seeing are the ones she refers to as her “coffee boys,” all the old farmers from the area who come at 7 a.m. sharp and stay until about 10. She also has a group of coffee ladies from Albert Lea who enjoy the Ellendale Café atmosphere. A group of retired veterans also shows up regularly, even though they must find someone to drive them over.

 

“On any given Friday, we have class reunions,” Knudson added. Recently, she had a birthday party for anyone who was turning 75; Davidson was a part of the group. Knudson recalled how nervous she was. Even though Davidson doesn’t work with her anymore, she felt like she wanted to make an impression because she respected Davidson that much.

 

“She taught me how to be,” Knudson said of Davidson. “I was this sassy little girl from Chicago and she developed me into who I am today.”

 

While Knudson has her local customers, she has had regular customers who come from Albert Lea and Blooming Prairie.

 

“The ones who know me expect me to smart off a little,” she said. Not too long ago, Andy Lerberg, former owner of the grocery store, came in and told her he wanted a “Packers Special.” Lerberg is a Packers fan while Knudson adores her Chicago Bears. It’s easy to tell from the twinkle in her eyes, she didn’t mind his teasing.

 

“I expect that camaraderie from him and other folks,” Knudson said. “It’s how it is in small towns.”