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Riverside Café: Tasting the Good Life
"Our business philosophy is to do what we like and hope others like it, too," says Toby Tyler, who with his wife Pam owns the Riverside Market and Café on Fairfield Street (Route 23) in Oakland. Since 1990, this business has grown from farm stand to sandwich shop to luncheon café and now to a spacious new dining room with wide decks overlooking broad vineyards and beyond to the waters of Messalonskee Stream. The new facility reflects all the qualities Pam and Toby like — a nice atmosphere, a European flair, fresh flowers, dining outdoors, simple foods, a casual setting, and reasonable prices. "We have a good quality of life," Pam explains. "The business is a reflection of us." The couple, along with son Travis and daughter Chelsea, who both grew up in the business, are dedicated and hard workers who enjoy what they're doing. They met through music — Toby, an Oakland native, played guitar in his own band and hired Pam as a singer. They developed Riverside through their mutual love of the outdoors — he has a degree in landscape architecture and she grew up on an Aroostook County potato farm. They expanded the business, time and again, because, "it grew on us as we went."
Pam is the creative one, the translator of ideas. The very popular Sunday brunch, for example, and the outdoor dining come from experiences visiting Quebec. Toby does all the gardening, the cooking, the menu. "What we're working toward is Mediterranean style light fare at reasonable prices," he describes. All their own produce is used in the kitchen and their goal with the vineyards is to pour their own house wine. Recently, they have developed Riverside Catering for weddings, receptions, reunions along the banks of the Messalonskee and have added dinner two nights a week, starting Father's Day. Monthly, they will be offering wine dinners with themes. "Our business philosophy is to do it quietly and people will come a little bit at a time," Toby summarizes. Guests who discover this gracious quality of dining are sure to return often. Café hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. — the kitchen closes at 6 p.m. — and Sunday Brunch, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Evening dinner is served Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. For reservations call | ||
