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A breakfast and lunch spot near the Livermore Municipal Airport is serving its last meals on Monday – free burritos, as a final thank-you – after more than a decade in business.
Livermore native Jake Palmer, who founded his namesake Jake’s Café and Catering in January 2014, shared the bittersweet news of the impending closure via social media video last month, saying he was “honored to serve the community I was raised in” but it was time to make a change.
“I met so many amazing people here at Jake’s, and that’s why this is so hard for me to tell y’all that I will be closing down the cafe,” Palmer said.
“This space is so special to me. I’ve raised three kids doing this and was able to do what I truly love to do,” the Granada High School alumnus added. “I’m ready for a break, I need to focus on my health and I’m ready to start a new chapter with new adventures to learn from.”
Jake’s Café focused on breakfast and lunch, along with catering services, during workdays operating out of a restaurant space in a small retail center on Wright Brothers Avenue, near the intersection of East Jack London Boulevard and Isabel Avenue on the west side of Livermore. The cafe added weekday dinner service along the way.
Palmer, who studied the culinary arts and worked in restaurants in Florida and the Bay Area over the years, had decided to set up roots in his hometown to focus not only on “great food” but “also about the great experience”, according to the cafe’s website.
In his goodbye video Feb. 18, Palmer thanked his customers and his workers for their support during the past 12 years.
“You all are much more than my employees. You are my family, and I love y’all forever. I know it’s my name on the wall but you guys were the true stars here at Jake’s,” he said. “Much love to all of you who supported me over the years, and I’ll miss the hell out of you. It’s been a wild ride and I can’t be more thankful for all of you.”
Jake’s social media over the weekend featured videos doing one final day of food prep before closing day on Monday (March 23), which will offer free breakfast burritos while supplies last.
“We’re so grateful for the love and support this community has shown us over the years. You’ve made this place more than a cafe – you made it a home,” the owner said in a post Friday.
