When the restaurant's owner, Evange Koutoulas, died in 1995, the restaurant's ownership transferred to his daughter, Anna Maria Koutoulas, and she has made it her priority to maintain the same level of quality at the restaurant that her father was so proud of. She had been managing her father's restaurant since 1992, and she says the prior experience helped her a great deal when she took over.

Of both Greek and Brazilian descent, Koutoulas enjoys serving a wide variety of international dishes.

"We serve a couple of Greek dishes and some Italian dishes, but we mainly have an American menu," says Koutoulas. "Our chefs make an amazing lasagna and some of the best pasta dishes around."

The restaurant also serves steaks and chops, as well as veal, chicken and seafood.

"I have learned to let the chefs take care of the kitchen. We have an excellent staff in there, and they know what the customers like and how to make it the best for them," Koutoulas says. "They do it all—from the menu planning to the ordering of the ingredients for each item. Most of them have been with me for 10 years now, and they are excellent."

The Cardinal Coffee Shop and Lounge serves breakfast, lunch and dinner 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We have many customers that come to me on Christmas day or Thanksgiving day and thank me for being open. It makes it so that the families can spend their holiday visiting and being served rather than spending the whole day in the kitchen and then having to clean up after," says Koutoulas.

"We have over 20 specials a day, in addition to our regular menu. Customers like variety when they go out to eat, and we like to make our customers happy," Koutoulas says.

All menu items are also available for take-out, including most of the special items.

A customer can dine at the Cardinal Coffee Shop and Lounge for a month and not eat the same thing twice. But most regular customers have their favorites. And if they have room after the meal, there are many desserts to choose from.

The lounge part of the restaurant, which features a full bar, is open from noon to 2 a.m. each day. Live music is performed each evening in the lounge, and there is karaoke on Monday and Wednesday nights.

"Our live music is a big hit. We play a lot of oldies, and the dance floor is usually pretty full on the weekends. People like having a different place to go to when they want to get out in the evenings," says Koutoulas.

Although the restaurant has felt some of the effects of the recession over the past couple of years, Koutoulas has made sure that her employees feel secure in their jobs.

"We did everything we could to keep from having to cut quality or lay off anyone from our staff, and it worked! We talked to the employees about cutting hours and explained why we needed to do it. They understood, and we kept everyone employed," says Koutoulas.

"There are two things that keep my restaurant going," she explains. "First and most important are the customers. We keep them happy, and they come back. The second thing is the staff. We want them feeling happy about where they work and enjoying their jobs."

To keep up the morale, each Sunday is a different adventure for the employees.

"A couple of weeks ago, we had Hawaiian day. All of the waiters, waitresses and hosts came dressed in Hawaiian clothes of some kind. It's important to let the people who work for you know that you don't want them to get bored and that you think as much of them as you do the customers. The customers and the employees both seem to enjoy it," says Koutoulas.

The Cardinal Coffee Shop & Lounge is located at 3197 Meridian Ave., at the corner of Hillsdale Avenue. The restaurant is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The lounge is open from noon to 2 a.m., seven days a week. For more information or for take-out orders, call 408.269.7891.