To David Ligatich, new owner of Biscuits Cafe in Fisher’s Landing, making a successful restaurant comes down to heart.
The Portland-native was once successful in the retail world, managing stores for the likes of Safeway and Best Buy. But heart trouble, eventually found to be caused by an undiagnosed form of epilepsy, derailed that career, he said.
“I was having episodes at work and (my wife) was having to leave her job to come take me to the hospital,” he said.
Two heart surgeries led to a period of unemployment before he found the right diagnosis, and now he and his wife Dana Ligatich are back in business.
The couple now owns two Biscuits Cafe restaurants: the Fisher’s Landing location and one in Gresham, Ore., which was recently voted the best breakfast restaurant by readers of the local newspaper.
The breakfast restaurant came into the couple’s life four years ago, when Dana Ligatich started work as a part-time server at the Gresham location. By the time the previous owner started looking to sell last year, she had worked her way up to management.
“I take my pride in my work and I care about the people that I serve. I treat them like family,” Dana Ligatich said. The restaurant is “like my second home, so I want to make sure they have a great time and come back for more.”
David Ligatich didn’t disclose the terms of the deal for the restaurants, but he said the previous owner “made it work for us.” They officially bought the location in February.
The couple said they have distinguished their business already by trying to be active in the community. David Ligatich said he followed both restaurant openings by going door to door introducing himself to neighboring businesses.
There are challenges in front of them, though. Three employees at the Fisher’s Landing location left when they took over. Past customers had reviewed the restaurant poorly, too. And while there were some loyal customers, he said, a lot of people simply haven’t heard of the restaurant.
“I don’t think we have a bad reputation. I don’t think we have a good reputation,” he said, adding that they hope to advertise more and be active on social media to build rapport. “I think we have no reputation at all, and that’s something we’re trying to build.”
It’s hard work and heart that they say will help them accomplish that. That, and good food and service, the couple said. They hope to end up owning a few more Biscuits Cafe locations.
“I wanted to own 80, she wants to do three,” he said. “So I think we’ll settle on around six.”
