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    Magnolia Cafe on Flickr

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    • John B. (4/5) on Yelp
      Really decent food + nice folks + 24 hrs = four Yelp stars. Some days are better than others, but the good far outweigh the bad. I'm a big fan of all the breakfast stuff they have, and you ( Yeah!… […]
    • Samantha C. (5/5) on Yelp
      So, so good. Especially at 2 am, when everyone bands together after a good night out to celebrate their drunkeness with gingerbread chocolate chip pancakes and love migas. I always think I'll branch… […]
    • Kacie M. (5/5) on Yelp
      I had to pick ONE restaurant to stop at as we drove through Austin, and Magnolia Cafe was it. I was a little worried since their specialty is breakfast and we were were for dinner, but when we drove… […]
    • Troy H. (4/5) on Yelp
      Good food whenever you want. I have to say that as a person who knows Cajun food; they know how to make it blackened, creole, or the Acadian way. I have not found another Austin restaurant that… […]
    • Robert H. (5/5) on Yelp
      What can I say that hasn't already been said? The best food in Austin after 2am. The BBQ chicken tacos are delicious! […]
    • John B. (4/5) on Yelp
      I've been coming here on-and-off for 15 years. They have good food at a decent price. I love the breakfast tacos, the burgers are tasty and as you can read in other reviews they have an abundance of… […]
    • Robin G. (5.0/5) on Yelp
      We get to Austin about every 6 weeks or so.....we always go to Magnolia Cafe for breakfast, but this past trip went for lunch on Friday and breakfast on Saturday. YUMMO! They do everything right and… […]
    • Nancy C. (5.0/5) on Yelp.com
      Definitely a quaint place with great food and service. […]
    • Just saw The RZA at Magnolia Cafe. Also, mighty delicious blueberry pancakes. I love Austin.
      Just saw The RZA at Magnolia Cafe. Also, mighty delicious blueberry pancakes. I love Austin. […]
    • Deborah C. (5.0/5) on Yelp.com
      awesome awesome awesome. Will be back next time I am in Austin! […]

Our friends on Flickr enjoy the Sorry sign

Published: March 4, 2008


sorry (reposted)
Originally uploaded by mofo


It’s amazing how this marketing message got started. Let me be clear to say that I wasn’t there, but I saw the original sign in the window at the Omelettry West (which later became the Magnolia Cafe under the new ownership by the former sweat equity manager, who later became my husband, Kent Cole).

If you can imagine the intensity of starting your own restaurant AND having to be one of the cooks in the kitchen from opening to closing — well, this sign is a result of post-traumatic-cook-syndrome.

The sign was prophetic: only years later did we become a 24 hour eatery. Maybe because, when you turned the sign over, it said Come In, We’re Closed.

I’ll be blogging a bit about our creative marketing choices from 1980-1995 or so. You might enjoy staying in touch with us and seeing the eccentric charm of Kent Cole in print advertising. Thanks for your generous time and curiosity about the Magnola Cafe.

d.p.

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