Try The Gabriel Salad At Gabriel’s Café, The Oldest Restaurant In Wellington

Story and Photos by Julie Unger

A staple in the community, Gabriel’s Café & Grille has been operated by Gabriel Finocchietti and his family since 1990. That alone puts it among Wellington’s oldest eateries, but the location as a restaurant dates back even further, to the late 1970s.

Serving breakfast and lunch every day, it’s almost like Wellington’s own Cheers bar. They know your name, what you like to eat and how you like your coffee. There’s a friendly atmosphere and a familiar face at every turn.

One of the dishes that makes Gabriel’s special, Finocchietti said, is the Gabriel Salad, with chicken, gorgonzola cheese, cranberries and pecans, cucumber, tomatoes, carrots, onions and olives over a bed of mixed greens.

Chef William Camacho, who has been with Gabriel’s for 15 years, said it is a signature dish because “everything comes together with a good flavor.”

Finocchietti chose the Gabriel Salad as a signature dish because of how well his namesake salad comes together.

“It has a nice presentation, it’s a nice-looking dish. It’s well known, and people like it,” he said. “There’s a variety of items in the salad that pleases customers, and it is light, healthy and tasty at the same time, with the cheese and the pecans and the cranberries, and of course, the chicken.”

With 26 years under his belt at Gabriel’s, he has seen three generations of customers. It’s a family tradition for many within Wellington to visit the café.

“The kids, the neighbors, the friends get together. It makes them more comfortable than going to a place where nobody knows them,” Finocchietti said.

Many of the staff members have been working at the café for more than 20 years.

The family atmosphere is what has kept Camacho at Gabriel’s for so long. “We do something special,” he said.

Everything moves like a ballet in the back, where employees work together in a way that only those who have worked together for years can. They have their own unique shorthand, quick language and ease when working together.

“When you get to that point where a customer comes in, 90 percent of the time, they know how they like their coffee, or how they like their toast done, or how they like the cream on the side, so they’re not repeating themselves all the time,” Finocchietti said. “The staff already knows half sweet tea, half unsweetened. They get their drink without saying anything. The drink is there waiting, just how they like it.”

Now, Finocchietti’s grandchildren — the third generation — are coming into the restaurant.

“It’s a comfortable, homey environment, where they don’t have to pretend anything and everyone knows each other,” Finocchietti said. “Everyone’s comfortable, and that’s why they keep coming.”

One great feature is the outside patio, he explained, where people come and bring their dogs.

“When they drive down Wellington Trace, the dogs get so excited because they know they’re going to Gabriel’s,” Finocchietti said.

Gabriel’s is not just a restaurant to Finocchietti, it’s his second home.

“My restaurant is a place for me to be home every day,” he said. “People say, ‘Oh, you work seven days.’ Yes, it’s seven days, with my customers. I’m there seven days a week. I make sure that the customers are happy. I talk to them, and we discuss things.”

For some customers, the Gabriel’s family is their family.

“When they come in, we tell them our stories; they tell us their stories,” Finocchietti said. “It makes them part of our family because they come in and talk to us about the old days, when they used to do this or that.”

A few couples have even been introduced at Gabriel’s, he said. “That’s why it’s special,” Finocchietti said.

Gabriel’s offers a wide variety of delicious meals, including three-egg omelets; eggs Benedict with crab meat, asparagus, Canadian bacon and other specialty items; hamburgers, hot dogs, garden burgers and more; many specialty salads; frittatas with ingredients like zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus or broccoli; waffles and crepes with pecans, peaches, banana, apple, strawberries or Nutella; French toast, pancakes and egg sandwiches; many varieties of sandwiches, melts and wraps; and popular classics like fish and chips, quesadillas, liver and onions, hot roast beef, fresh roast turkey, country fried steak and more.

“We do everything,” Camacho said. “Our customers, they know what we sell is homemade. Everything is homemade. That’s why they keep coming.”

Gabriel’s is open for breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday. Take-out and catering are available.

Gabriel’s Café & Grille in located in the Wellington Plaza at 12793 W. Forest Hill Blvd., Suite G. For more information, call (561) 793-0675.