West
Concord, Minnesota: Population 782
Distance
from Rochester, Minnesota: 31 miles
Reason to
drive there: Only one – Omar’s Café for Sunday Brunch
Sunday
mornings in West Concord are incredibly quiet. No one in town is stirring, and
except for the few cars in front of Omar’s Café, you might be forgiven if
you thought you were in a ghost town.
The view in the middle of Main Street looking to the east.
Why did Omar decide to open a cafe in,
of all places, West Concord? I've never asked him the question directly, but
I'm sure part of it has to do with the location. Yes, it's a 30 mile drive from
Rochester, but maybe that works in his favor. If you want to have Sunday
morning brunch at Omar's, you're going to have to make a firm decision to go.
It's not a cafe that you end up going to on accident.
Linda and Octavia heading in.
Is it
worth the drive? Sure it is. We've had Sunday Brunch at Omar's maybe a dozen
times over the years, and every time is exactly the same. In some cases
"sameness" wouldn't be something to brag about, but in Omar's case,
it most certainly is. Omar's daughter is the only waitress, and she welcomes
you with coffee and a smile. If you want an omelet or a Belgian waffle, she'll
order it for you; otherwise, you stake out your own table and make your way
over to the buffet. Later, maybe when you're about halfway done, Omar himself
will take a break from the kitchen and stroll over to say hello. Generally,
he'll simply check to make sure everything is okay, and then he'll thank you
for coming. That's it, but it's comforting to know that he cares.
Meanwhile,
his wife makes sure you remember to have a dessert or three. And if you still
have a sweet tooth after the meal is over, she will point out the containers of
cookies for sale by the front door, left over from that week's Farmers'
Market.
On this
visit, she caught me admiring her knick knacks.
Exhibit A: Knick Knacks.
Are any for sale? I'm not sure, but she
asked me what I was looking at, and I pointed out the frog. She was quick to
mention that the frog played music, and she cranked it up for us to have a
chance to hear it play its song.
A frog with a tune.
While the knick knacks may or may not be available for purchase, Omar's does have quite a few old prints and paintings and such for sale on the walls. Included among them, one will usually find at least a couple versions of "the Last Supper," which, if you think about it for a moment, is an interesting choice for a cafe serving Sunday Brunch to display.
Art for sale.
Other than Omar's, West Concord on a Sunday doesn't have much to offer. Rice Lake State Park is about 10 miles away, and it's a nice way to burn off some of those excess brunch calories. Unfortunately, it's 10 miles in the opposite direction of Rochester.
Across the street is a shop named Woody's. It's not open on Sundays, but it looks like an interesting place. Maybe it's an antique store? Maybe it just has miscellaneous items for sale? Who knows. On this particular visit, the Confederate flag on display in the front window caught my attention. The flag was fairly big, and if I recall the price marked on the tag correctly, they were only asking 12 bucks for it. Not a bad price if you're in the market for a Confederate flag.
Woody's -- Not open on Sundays.
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