Sunny side cafe cape may court house

New ownership continues Sunnyside Café traditions

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Partners Brian Paras, left, and Tom Glick, right, offer up classic American breakfast and lunch favorites at Sunnyside Cafe.

Tom’s Crab Cake Sandwich is made with all crab and no filler and is one of the most popular lunch items on the menu.

Be sure to grab a bottle of homemade hot sauce to bring home from Sunnyside Cafe.

Homemade French toast with fresh fruit and breakfast sausage makes for a tasty morning combo.

A variety of omelets at Sunnyside Cafe, in Cape May Court House, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (VERNON OGRODNEK, FOR THE PRESS)

Sunnyside Cafe owners and chefs Tom Glick and Brian Paras work in the kitchen, in Cape May Court House, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (VERNON OGRODNEK, FOR THE PRESS)

Sunnyside Cafe owners and chefs Brian Paras and Tom Glick work in the kitchen, in Cape May Court House, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (VERNON OGRODNEK, FOR THE PRESS)

Homemade French toast with fruit, blueberry pancakes and omelets are some of the breakfast items at Sunnyside Cafe, in Cape May Court House, Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. (VERNON OGRODNEK, FOR THE PRESS)

RYAN LOUGHLIN

Taking over a restaurant at the start of a global pandemic seems like a losing battle.

Tom Glick didn’t see it that way.

So, in April 2020, he decided to take a chance and buy the Sunnyside Café, a Cape May Court House breakfast and lunch spot filled with the type of folksy charm you might expect from this type of establishment.

A popular local spot for hotcakes and omelets, it had been open for years under different ownership until Glick — a transplant from Delaware who also owns Glick’s Corner Deli just down the street — drove by one day and noticed it was closed. After a bit of discussion and a few phone calls, Glick and his partner Brian Paras decided to take over the reins.

“There was a lot of work that had to be done,” Glick says. “We refurbished the kitchen and re-did a few things, but we wanted to keep the same charm that it had for so many years.”

So they did.

Sunnyside Café is as warm and folksy as ever, but with a noticeable sprucing up.

“We kept the same setup, but we modernized it a bit,” Glick adds. “Now people say, ‘It kinda looks the same, but the tables don’t wobble anymore.’”

The FoodSteady tables are a nice plus, but to keep a restaurant packed you have to have great food. And Sunnyside Café has that covered.

“It’s good food fast — not fast food,” he says. “I’m back there flipping eggs every day and making homemade soups. Everything we do is fresh – even the pancake batter.”

It’s clear that Glick is proud of the food they serve and Sunnyside Café, and he has a right to be. The menu reads like a list of all of your favorite breakfast all-stars: cereals, oatmeal and fresh fruit are available for those seeking out a light breakfast, while those with a heartier appetite can navigate their way through a labyrinth of breakfast combos that include staples like pancakes, french toast, waffles, eggs, homefries and various breakfast meats such as bacon, sausage or ham. They even have a list of Benedict combos including crab cake and sausage varieties. Each come with coffee, which is a nice touch, and prices are more than reasonable, as the combos range from $6.25 to $10.25.

Don’t sleep on the cream chipped beef combo ($8.95) — an indulgent and tasty breakfast dish.

“The cream chipped beef on toast flies under the radar a bit, but it’s one of my favorites,” he says.

Omelets are a big seller at Sunnyside, with a long list of all the usual suspects like bacon and cheese, western, spinach and cheese and others making appearances.

Lunch is a mix of American classics, with half-pound burgers ($8.95) and turkey clubs ($9.95) sharing space with diner staples like the grilled cheese ($5.95), tuna melt ($8.95) or grilled Reuben ($9.95).

But of all the dishes on the lunch menu, there’s one standout that bears the name of its creator: Tom’s crab cake sandwich ($9.95), which Glick stands proudly behind.

“I’m pretty well known for my crab cakes,” he says. “I use nothing but crab meat, a little bit of mayo and my mix of spices — no filler. People are always taken aback, because at that price they think they are going to get a frozen crab cake, but once they have it, they are pleasantly surprised.”

The hot saucesCertain staples like ketchup, salt and pepper will always be found on the table at any restaurant, but at Sunnyside Café, hot sauce is just as important. And here they are homemade.

“When I was growing up, we always had hot sauces around for eggs,” he explains. “But when I came down to Jersey, I noticed that a lot of places didn’t have hot sauce on the table. So I started making my own. I make different varieties like chipotle, cayenne, habanero garlic – so we started botting and selling them. I’ve been making these sauces for 28 years.”

You can purchase your very own bottle of any of Glick’s hot sauce varieties to take home for $5.95.

Earlybirds onlySo why just breakfast and lunch? Glick says that it gives him more time to spend with his family, as the café is only open until 3 p.m., but he has another good reason, too.

“Because nobody has ever punched me in the face over an egg,” Glick says bluntly.

His point is well taken. There is a lot more pressure at dinner, and when you throw a few bottles of wine into the mix, customers don’t always behave as rationally as you would expect. Breakfast or lunch makes for a more casual and relaxed environment. And that is exactly what you get at Sunnyside Café.