Gonzales ambiance: Cafe Sozo offers unique dining experience

For Rene de la Garza, opening a downtown cafe is something he's wanted to do for quite a long time.

De la Garza said there was "an idea" about what he wanted to see and when a spot in the Randle-Rather Building came open, he thought the timing might be right.

"It became available," he said.

After discussions, de la Garza made a deal with the building owner and Cafe Sozo was born.

"We want to have a world-type atmosphere," he said.

That includes cloth table cloths, good service and "ambiance," which includes the decor of the place. That decor came from all around the world. Pieces of various artwork and other items come from various places like India, Africa and Vietnam.

"We want a nice, quiet atmosphere," he said.

There is relaxing music which plays throughout the day and it's all Christian based. The word "sozo" is Greek and means "salvation" or "to be saved."

The cafe is currently open Monday through Friday and focuses on lunchtime. However, they do serve a continental style breakfast and there's always plenty of de la Garza's own coffee which he roasts locally.

They generally open around 8 a.m. for the breakfast crowd and then things get going for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. They specialize in sandwiches, soups and salads.

De La Garza said starting in June, they will be open on Friday nights and he hopes to expand that to Saturdays for both lunch and dinner.

"We want this to be a place where people can come on Saturdays," he said.

Eventually, de la Garza hopes to have live music at the cafe.

The cafe seats around 30 people and some of the tables are even in the lobby of the building. De la Garza said eventually there will be tables outside for customers.

And the future plans don't stop there.

"We eventually want to have a full kitchen in the back," he said.

He's already been talking to an architect about how to construct such a kitchen and still keep the historic architecture of the building intact. There's also a drive through in the back of the building which could also eventually be used for people needing to eat on the run.

Cafe Sozo employees two waitresses and one food preparer.

"It has been growing constantly," said de la Garza of the first month or so of business. "We really starting to draw a crowd for lunch."

He said one group of ladies eats lunch at the cafe four days a week.

"People say Gonzales needs this," he said.

De la Garza is especially pleased with the atmosphere, which he calls "comfortable" and "inviting."

The restaurant even offers customers a small, private room where they can pray. There's also Wi-Fi available and a television is usually playing quietly.

De la Garza's coffee business is also part of the cafe. It was in January 2008 when he first began roasting his own coffee. He buys coffee from 16 countries around the world. Just of sample of the place he gets coffee include Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Hawaii, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen.

He sells the coffee by the cup or by the pound and can even grind if for customers. De la Garza has shipped the coffee to all corners of the United States and also sold some to a woman from England who took it back across the pond.

The restaurant is located at 427 St. George Street. Call 672-3435 for more information. De la Garza said they plan to have a web site up and running in the near future.