SAN MARINO, Calif. — Many customers at San Marino Cafe and Marketplace say the homemade onion jam balsamic vinaigrette should be bottled and sold. That’s how good it is.
Owner Linda Zadoian feels even though her menu is simple, the dressing and sauces, that are made three to four times a week, keep her guests coming back for more.
"I always worry, are things not trendy enough? But people just kept coming back wanting those simple flavors with a bit of zest in it."
Zadoian took a chance at opening her café. While she had managerial experience as a vice president in middle-market banking, she wasn’t a professional chef.
“I had 48 direct employees. I got to travel everywhere, and I never smelled like bacon. But I wasn’t fulfilled. I knew there was something greater for me,” she said.
This “something great” was serving her community. Zadoian is Armenian and says her culture is all about cooking and nourishing people. It’s what fulfills her.
“We are hospitable people,” she said. “We love to have guests. We love to cook a lot, and I got to do it in a space that became my business.”
Due to the nature of the actual space, a small kitchen with no stove, sandwiches and salads were the perfect dishes to focus on. They are approachable, but at San Marino, they use high-end ingredients to create powerful flavors in something that seems simple.
“When we were all little kids, we ate sandwiches, right? Now, we want them to be more sophisticated,” Zadoian said.
There are specials that change any time she comes up with a new idea, such as the vegan taco salad.
“I wake up at three o’clock in the morning and I say, ‘I have this idea.’ And I bring it back to my amazing crew, who helps me put it all together,” Zadoian said.
Another Zadoian creation that actually became a staple on the menu is a turkey and gruyere sandwich using an apple chutney from Armenia. Two years ago, during the war, she started importing different goods from her home country to show support.
“Anything that I could to help the economy and this apple chutney was something that I tried and didn’t know much about it, and we put it on a sandwich, and it was a hit,” she said.
When Zadoian first opened five years ago, it was slow, and she was nervous. But today, they serve thousands of people a week and she’s on her way to opening a second restaurant.
As it’s Women’s History Month, Zadoian wants to be an example for other women who hope to run their own business.
“I want everybody to know you can do it. It’s not this lofty far-off dream. Get rid of the 'but.' You can do it.”
Support a woman-owned restaurant by getting a sandwich or salad from San Marino Cafe located at 2507 Mission St. in San Marino, Calif.