Best of Menomonie

menomonie Best Of

SCATTERBRAINED SMALL TOWN GEM IN DOWNSVILLE IS RICH WITH FLAVOR – AND HISTORY words by KYRA PRICE | photo by ANDREA PAULSETH

A lways evolving in favor of trying new ideas, co-owner of Scatterbrain Café Stephanie Thompson affectionately refers to the quaint destination 6 miles south of Menomonie as her “child.” “My mom wanted me to run this place,” Thompson said, referring to the café in the small community of Downsville. “Basically, from the be ginning, it’s been my brainchild." True to its affectionate name, Scatterbrain Café has been a family owned business for eight years. Thompson explained that her par ents owned the café before her and were excited to pass it along to their

Scatterbrain Café now serves omelets, hash browns, pancakes, and other fixings for breakfast. Known for delicious and fun takes on clas sic dishes such as unique waffle specials for Waffle Thursday (Corn Bread, Chocolate Cadbury Cream, Carrot Cake, etc.) as well as Alligator Eggs (avocado toast with eggs, mango salsa, and pulled pork with a house made root beer BBQ sauce), Thomp son has been playing with recipes to keep things new and fresh. For lunch, bistro-style soups and paninis are offered. “My grandmas taught me how to cook. It’s their recipes,” Thompson said proudly. Currently, there are no offerings for dinner, but Thompson noted there are future plans to change that, too. The Scatterbrain staff hopes the unique atmosphere and friendly service keep people coming back for years to come – in fact, customers are encouraged to stick around. “We want people to loiter!” Thompson laughed. Visit Scatterbrain Café at (E4507 County Road C, Menomonie. Find more info and keep up on Facebook.

here over 100 years, (since) the lum ber boom era,” Thompson proudly said – and before Scatterbrain ex isted, the space lived many lives, as a general store, a hardware shop, an antique shop, a mom-and-pop coffee shop, and – finally – what it is today. The business was once called Downsville Café, but Thompson said she didn’t love the name. “Four years ago, (my husband) just woke up one day and was like, ‘It’s me. I’m the scatterbrain,’ ” Thompson recalls. The term stuck. Perhaps one of the café's most notable changes was its switch to roasting coffee in-house. “We had a local coffee roaster at first, but he was ready to retire. We purchased his equipment and now roast coffee on site,” Thompson said. The unique trick to their signature roasts? “The beans are roasted in a 100-year-old cast iron roaster!” The café’s menu and cooking processes are equally unique. Ev erything is made from scratch – from the baked goods to the coffee, soups, and paninis. Most of their ingredi ents are locally sourced as well, a purposeful move to support area farmers as best they can.

daughter. As of May, she will have been co-owner for three years, and during that time she has been hard at work making changes. The busi ness underwent remodeling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thompson noted that the whole kitchen was moved, a walk-in cooler was built, and the bathrooms renovated. Still, aspects of the original structure remain intact. “The original safe, rolling track, and bakery case are still here,” Thompson explained, pointing to the back of the café, ceil ing, and service area. “We definitely want to highlight that.” The building that houses the café has stood the test of time – “It’s been

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Best Of menomonie

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