Familiar faces, new location

by Beth Kraft

Dennis and Kathy Litchfield closed up KD’s Homestyle Eatery in downtown Mondovi a few months ago, leaving the city somewhat short on coffee clutch options, but their decision to assume management of Gilmanton’s Panther Cafe turned out to be mutually beneficial for both the restaurateurs and their hometown community.

Dennis and Kathy both grew up in the Gilmanton area, graduating from Gilmanton High School in 1968 and 1978, respectively, and live about a mile from their new venture in downtown Gilmanton. When they learned in April that the Gilmanton Community Club was looking for someone to take over Panther Cafe operations following the retirement of longtime managers Dave and Jane Brown, the Litchfields jumped at the opportunity

“Both of us had some pretty formative years growing up in this town,” says Kathy.

“We’ve been a part of this community, we have a lot of relatives and friends here,” she continued. “This has been like a little landmark for the community for a long time, and they wanted to see it keep running.”

Since re-opening as KD’s Panther Cafe on May 19, the Litchfields have established the restaurant as a go-to breakfast stop for both locals and deer hunters alike, a Friday fish fry hot spot, and a hub for the local senior meals program all thanks to Kathy’s sought-after homemade dishes.

“I enjoy being a part of the senior program here,” commented Kathy, who has seen the program expand to about 50 participants daily. “It gets those people who are able to get out into the public.”

In fact, one of the Litchfields’ visions for KD’s Panther Cafe is to make it into a family-friendly community gathering place for people to meet for coffee and cards, host class reunions and meetings, or just drop in on their way through to say hello.

“I think in a little town we need a place besides the taverns to congregate in,” says Kathy.

But before the Litchfields transitioned into their new venture, the Panther Cafe building was in need of some key upgrades.

“[The Community Club was] really helpful with getting the building ready,” says Dennis, pointing to plumbing work and kitchen upgrades that were made prior to opening.

Members of the GHS National Honor Society also pitched in with a fresh coat of paint for the walls.

“They really treated us right,” said Dennis of the willing help he received in readying the building—a welcome change of pace compared to past experiences with rented restaurant space in recent years.

The couple was nearly prepared to re-open the Panther Cafe about a week prior to their actual opening date, but a May 8 electrical storm produced a setback when lightning struck a power pole outside the building. The strike caused a power surge that started a small fire.

Fortunately Dennis and Kathy happened to be in the building working at the time. They quickly doused the flames, no doubt avoiding a much bigger problem, but necessary clean-up tasks did push their opening back a week.

The couple originally thought they would keep both KD’s locations going, but quickly decided running both restaurants was too much.

“We did that for six weeks and then realized we just wanted to be in one place,” Kathy explained.

After six years in Mondovi, KD’s Homestyle Eatery closed its doors on North Eau Claire Street at the end of June.

New chapter begins

The closing may have signaled the demise of yet another restaurant operation in Mondovi, but the Litchfields say there were just too many factors in favor of bringing their business to Gilmanton.

“This is so much easier here,” says Dennis. “We can seat 20 more people here than our dining room [in Mondovi] and we’re filling it up.

“The expenses are so much lower here, too,” he added, naming off basic business bills like rent, garbage collection and water.

Kathy acknowledged that some people were quite upset by the closure of KD’s in Mondovi, but their new set-up in Gilmanton is just eight miles away.

“I tell people to come down and see us,” she said. “It’s like we’re still running the same business as we did in Mondovi, we just moved to a new location.”

As a result, patrons are likely to recognize a familiar staff. Employee numbers were reduced from 26 to about 10, but many have transitioned to KD’s Panther Cafe from Mondovi.

“When people come in, they’ll see a familiar face,” said Kathy.

Now that the Litchfields work so close to home, they have a hand in Gilmanton community happenings much more often than they could while working in Mondovi.

“Now we’re able to do that—to be a bigger part of the community that we live in,” says Kathy.

The restaurant may have a new location, but the menu choices and services offered by KD’s haven’t changed too much.

The popular 1/2 pound KD Burger Club and Breakfast Club with punch cards have made the trip to Gilmanton, as has the restaurant’s lunchtime soup and salad bar and popular specials like chicken and potato dumplings and broasted chicken. The Litchfields have even added a Mexican buffet to their offerings, which runs Monday nights from 4 - 8 p.m..

Breakfast continues to be the most important meal of the day in Kathy’s eyes.

“I love to create breakfast,” she says. “That’s why our breakfast menu is as big as it is.”

Fresh, hot breakfast items from eggs Benedict to biscuits and gravy to the standard plates of pancakes or eggs and bacon are available on weekdays until 11 a.m., at which point Kathy has to switch to lunch items to accommodate the senior meals program. Breakfast can be had until 1 p.m. on weekends for those late risers.

As she did in Mondovi, Kathy continues to bake up homemade bread, cookies, donuts and pies on a daily basis. To-go baking and catering orders also continue to be available with advance notice.

Past experiences lead to present success

Some might say the restaurant industry is in Dennis and Kathy’s blood. 

“I’ve been in the restaurant business pretty much all my working life,” says Kathy.

Growing up, members of both of their families ran restaurants around the area.

In the 1960s Dennis’ family owned and operated eateries in Nelson, Mondovi and Durand, while Kathy’s grandma, Clara Laehn, owned a cafe where the Gilmanton Post Office now resides just across the street from the Litchfields’ current restaurant. Kathy’s mother also operated a restaurant, Katie’s Cafe, partially inspiring the “KD’s” name due to the similar sounds.

Despite a deep background with restaurants in her family, Kathy thought she might pursue different career interests.

“If anybody would have told me as I was growing up where I was going to be and what I was going to do I would have said, ‘no way,’” she laughed with a shake of her head.

Kathy’s culinary skills are largely self-taught, as she quotes her mother’s famous words: “‘Get out of my kitchen!’” with fond recollection.

“I actually don’t know when I developed the [interest in cooking and baking],” Kathy mused.

“I think the fact that she pushed her out of the kitchen made her want to learn even more,” reasoned Dennis.

However it happened, the Gilmanton community has been sure to let the Litchfields know their efforts are needed and appreciated.

“A lot of them have expressed that, ‘we’re glad you’re here because we missed not having a restaurant,’” noted Kathy.

KD’s Panther Cafe is open Monday - Friday from 6 a.m. - 8 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Orders can be placed by calling (715) 946-3139.