Palm Cafe Grows As Fine Arts Center Expands

Stephen Decaire is an artist by nature and a cook by trade, so it makes sense that he has been operating the Palm Cafe inside the atrium lobby for the past four years.

Besides the fact that he gets to comingle with fellow artists and art teachers on a daily basis, who make up 80 percent of his clientele, Decaire also gets to hone his talents as a cook by applying his people skills to the café business.

“I’m an artist, and I think like one,” the longtime Dunedin resident and owner of Tile Works Gallery on Douglas Avenue said. “I try to balance my art with my cooking, and I like to cater specifically to the art community that dines here.”

"I like to cater to each person's needs, be it vegan, vegetarian, gluten free," Decaire said. "I like to spoil them, and they appreciate that." 

But as he found himself running a tiny sandwich shop that was shoehorned around the children’s section of the center, serving PB&Js to summer campers, Decaire wasn’t sure whether his cooking career was ever really going to take off.

Then the latest DFAC expansion kicked into gear, and suddenly Decaire’s life — and outlook on his business — changed.

“A couple of years ago, the center got a donation from the estate of (local philanthropist) Louis Flack, and that’s when things began to change dramatically,” Decaire said.

The center started an expansion project that moved the children’s section to its own room in the rear of the facility, which eventually opened up the cafe area. An outdoor patio also helped expand the space, but the biggest change has been the addition of Decaire’s new partner, longtime friend and chef Michael Webb.

“Stephen has built such a good rapport with the people here, but he couldn’t do it all himself,” said Webb, a culinary school graduate who has been working in the restaurant business for almost 20 years. 

“With the new expansion, the opportunity is there to build a really strong relationship with the community," Webb said. "I saw the potential for growth.” 

To keep up with the changes going on around them, Decaire and Webb have grand plans to match the rapid growth of their home base.

The pair have been catering special events at the facility already, but now they plan to do a lot more off-site catering for parties, weddings, meetings and other occasions. They would also like to prepare meals for pickup and stay open later for dinner.

With a planned move to the front of the facility during the next phase of the expansion, they foresee having a standalone entrance and possibly even beer and wine for sale. 

At the very least, they would like the outdoor patio to be in the front of the facility, which should help draw in new customers who might not have found the place otherwise.

"The management here has been great in allowing Michael and I to do what we want to do to help grow the place,” Decaire said. “With the expansion being done here, I look at it like I have to grow, too.” 

“We’re not really a destination point yet, but we hope it will be in the future,” Webb added.

Stephen Michael's Palm Cafe

Address: 1143 Michigan Blvd. (inside Dunedin Fine Art Center)

Phone: 727-483-4659

Hours: 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday; 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday