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The Fig Tree Café & Bakery in Lee's...
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The Fig Tree Café & Bakery in Lee's Summit, MO
July 31, 2010
Photo: Robyn Graves-Altoom and husband Tom Altoom welcome you to The Fig Tree. They are shown here in front of the fig tree wall mural designed and painted by daughter Laura Graves and two of her classmates at Underwood Elementary School.
Tribune Photo / Fred Poese
The Fig Tree Café & Bakery
A Locally Grown Experience in Great Dining
By Mary Pechar
Robyn Graves-Altoom grew up as a farm kid near Branson and one of her favorite memories is of watching and then helping her grandmother bake and make pies. From these roots grew her love of food, baking and the whole experience of feeding people.
Husband Tom Altoom grew up on the other side of the world in Palestine with an abundance of local fruits, grains and their own olive trees. He has a marketing background and has previously experienced every role in a restaurant from server to General Manager.
As a busy working family they did their share of the fast food experience. But at home they preferred to keep to their roots and ate primarily local, organic foods. They shared a vision of bringing something different to a family dining out. They wanted another option for themselves.
They recognized that there were many other families just as ready for another option so, when the opportunity to fulfill the vision presented itself they jumped at the chance. And from the beginning a wonderful base of loyal customers has been right there with them. “We want moms and dads to feel good about feeding their families fast at The Fig Tree,” Robyn told attendees. “So we use ingredients that are always fresh, never frozen; and the products are organic whenever available.”
Robyn and Tom go out of their way to find the best local produce, visiting farmers markets and seeking out like minded farmers. It didn’t take long for the word to spread and now the natural and organic famers beat a steady path to their door. The relationships are strong and contributing growers are acknowledged on many of the dinner menu choices. All of the beef used for the burgers, for example, comes from cows raised locally without steroids, hormones or antibiotics; and the free-range egg farmers are humane certified. Even the sauces and salad dressings are made from scratch, so the food just tastes fresher and healthier.
One aspect of eating local that you see reflected on the menu is the need to adapt to the growing season. The week I visited with Robyn and Tom, Rachel’s Organic Vegetables provided them with an abundance of carrots. So a new chilled carrot-ginger soup joined the menu. Carrots subtly highlighted the Shrimp & Pasta Arrabiata’s spicy heirloom tomato sauce, swam with the Pot Roast, perk of the salads and star in Robyn’s famous Carrot Cake.
Beyond the richer flavor and nutritional benefits of sourcing ingredients locally, another huge driver is to bolster the local economy. Eating locally on nutritious food sourced locally is another one of the “little things” that contributes to sustaining our economy & environment. Local musicians are featured live on special weekends, and the background music is provided by KC Café Radio, which plays predominantly area musicians. The owners say they are passionate about contributing to the local economy, and they even deliver the leftover baked goods to charitable groups in the community.
Daughter Laura Graves has put her individual print on the Café as well. The fig tree wall mural was designed and painted by Laura and two of her classmates at Underwood Elementary School. The kids’ menu printed on a coloring placemat mirrors the fig tree mural.
The Fig Tree is a warm, welcoming environment with quick attentive service that compliments the superior food. The restaurant is open Monday and Tuesday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Wednesday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Reservations are not required. Located at 817 NE Rice Road, they can be reached at 347.0442 or on the web at www.figtreecafels.com.
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