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The long lines outside Patterson's Uptown Cafe on High Street will soon disappear when the cafe moves to a bigger venue in Stewart Square this summer.
After five and a half years at 119 High Street, Uptown Cafe is relocating to the Spring Street corner storefront of the Stewart Square shopping center next to the Ball of Oxford.
Owner Michael Patterson said he and his wife and co-owner, Michelle, have been talking about the move for the past several years.
"We have watched people come to the doors on the weekends and not be able to get in," Patterson said. "It's disheartening as a business owner to not have people be able to get into your establishment."
The breakfast and lunch joint will not only drop the "Uptown" from its name but will seat 90 customers indoors and more in an outdoor seating space. The new cafe will also be handicap accessible, provide "his and her" restrooms, offer more window seating and feature a private dining room.
"We're very excited about this move," Patterson said. "We can triple our size and offer better products."
Patterson said he has been working closely with Scott Webb, the architect of the new location, to retain the same character from the High Street site.
"Some of the things we're working on, we think, will be really amazing and different for the cafe," Patterson said. "There are things we're trying to do that will move the cafe to a new level and will make it a really exciting place to go and a fun place to go."
Alan Kyger, Oxford's director of economic development and a frequent customer of Uptown Cafe, said some Oxford residents and Miami University students are concerned the new location may lose some of the charm from the current cafe.
"Mr. Patterson has brought something more to that location than just breakfast and lunch, and whatever that is will transcend into the new location," Kyger said. "I get two eggs over easy and white toast. It's not easy to screw that up, but why do we go to the Uptown Cafe over other places?"
Webb said the interior design of the new site will keep the appeal of the old cafe.
"Part of the charm of the current Uptown Cafe is that it is very small and very intimate," Webb said. "The new interior will have the same sort of charm from the old store, and it will look like it's been around for generations."
As for another addition to the empty storefronts on High Street, Kyger said there are currently no replacement tenants lined up.
"It's going to be another empty space on High Street," Kyger said, "but the smallness lends itself well to people trying to start out in business and trying to create a shop from scratch. From that standpoint, it should be a good site for re-use."
Patterson said his goal is for Patterson's Cafe to open by Aug. 1.
"I am sad to move off High Street," Patterson said, "but the opportunity presented itself, and it's a great time to do it."
