The Cafe’s journey to success

February 22, 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of The Café in

Graford, known for its great food and prices

Story by Michelle Ince | Photos by Erika Carter

The owners of The Café in Graford, Dirk and Jennifer Leach

Known for its amazing food and affordable prices, The Café in Graford has earned a reputation that is known far and wide, and Feb. 22 will mark its 25th anniversary.

Owner Jennifer Leach began working in restaurant kitchens when she was in high school. Her first job was at Boggy Bottom, a now-defunct eatery that was owned by Regina McDougald and located between Graford and Possum Kingdom Lake.

Leach said she was hired to be a dishwasher, but began cooking within a couple of weeks. “Regina would tell you that I just stepped in,” Leach said. “It came really easy for me.”

In the meantime, her future husband, Dirk Leach, was working mornings at what is now known as Jackrabbit Corner, which was built by Wayne and Erma Cobb.

Dirk Leach said the morning shift appealed to him because he was attempting to get on a golf tour at the time. “I needed something I could get off and go practice every day,” he said.

While he was working the cash register at the convenience store, Jennifer Leach was working as a cook for the Cobbs’ daughter, Stephanie, and eventually the two ended up working together. It wasn’t love at first sight, though. Dirk Leach recalled that the first time he saw his wife-to-be, he accidentally made her cry.

“I didn’t like him,” Jennifer Leach said. “I thought he was a smartass.”

A business opportunity presented itself when Stephanie Cobb, who was running the restaurant where The Café is now, wanted out. Even though Jennifer Leach was just 20 years old at the time, she decided to buy the restaurant. She said she leased the building for six months before buying it outright.

“I was not the typical ‘my age’ person,” she said. “I did not party. Even when I was in high school and worked at Boggy Bottom, I worked every single weekend from open to close. I’m not a social person. I like to work, and I wanted to have things. I come from pretty much nothing, and I wanted to accomplish some things – and work didn’t bother me.”

She admitted that owning her own business came with a learning curve, though. “I didn’t know much about business,” she said.

She said learning what she needed to charge, learning to conduct business correctly and knowing how to pay employees were her biggest challenges starting out.

In the beginning, Dirk Leach said, he and his wife sat down and put figures on paper. Armed with the knowledge of what Stephanie Cobb had made in an average day, the couple thought they could improve on the bottom line.

“It’s a lot of that stuff that you don’t even think about,” Dirk Leach said. “Then all of a sudden it’s the end of the month. That didn’t work out like we thought.”

Although the couple didn’t hit paydirt right away, they continued to work together, and Dirk Leach said he was impressed with his wife’s work ethic and driven nature.

“She’s just one of those people that can rub a sandstone and make a diamond out of it,” he said. “I’ve known a few people like that in my life, and she’s one of them.”

Jennifer Leach said The Café was a successful endeavor from the start, and eventually the couple began adding on to the building. Dirk Leach said he and his dad closed in what is now known as the back room before eventually adding on a new kitchen and constructing a patio. The patio ended up being enclosed, too, to create more inside dining.

After working alongside each other, the Leaches got married and decided to start a family. Their eldest daughter, Ella, was joined 13 months later by her baby sister, Trinity.

It was during this time that Jennifer Leach sold The Café to an out-of-town investor. The restaurant didn’t flourish under new ownership, though, so she decided to lease the business for a few years before finally buying it back and turning its fortunes around.

“Whether I have to work all the time or cut people out, or whatever I have to do, I will make it,” she said.

Jennifer Leach said she believes in keeping fair prices so customers feel like they’re getting value for their money. Another important business component for her is hiring workers who are friendly and trustworthy. She said it’s vital to have staff members who can take care of the up-front part of the restaurant while also having dependable employees who can help her in the back.

“Probably being successful is being up there a lot,” she said.

She said she wants her employees to see her and her husband working hard, too.

“That’s the key to this place,” Dirk Leach said. “It’s us being there, like a regular employee.”

Many employees have been with the Leaches for several years, including one who has been on the payroll from day one.

The Café also has a series of regular customers who sit at the famous roundtable in the front. Dirk Leach said someone even once wrote and recorded a song about them.

The Leaches also have bought a block in downtown Graford and opened an event center that holds nearly a dozen events a month. Jennifer Leach said she wanted something local where people could gather for all kinds of functions. The building also houses apartments, a restaurant and a deli/produce market.

Dirk Leach said that, for him, Graford was a thriving town that was “rocking and rolling” when he was growing up, but over the years he witnessed a decline. His dream is to see Graford thriving again – and with the new school being built and more people coming into the community, he’s hopeful that Graford can once again return to its former glory.

“I want to bring this town back to life again,” he said. “That’s my biggest deal.”