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Finding a Home for Tree House

Among those who frequent Santa Fe's Tree House Pastry Shop and Café, the tiny all-organic restaurant is beloved as much for its bucolic location as for its farm-fresh, seasonally derived, all-vegetarian cuisine and scrumptious pastry goods.

And though the tree house that lent the eatery its name no longer stands atop the nearby cottonwoods, the Tree House Pastry Shop and Café, ensconced at the end of a winding garden path on the grounds of the Plants of the Southwest, is inextricably tied to this place: its menu is composed exclusively from produce available from nearby farms, solar panels outside the kitchen door draw energy from the Southwestern sun overhead, and the adobe walls that give the café its warmth are made from the same earth upon which the building stands.

In fact, connections to place—local traditions, agriculture, and environment—are at the core of Tree House's philosophy and what sets it apart among the Santa Fe restaurant scene. These connections have worked well for Tree House—making the tiny shop a destination for Santa Feans interested in an out-of-the-ordinary dining experience, and they are among the reasons Gourmet magazine chose in 2007 to name Tree House as one of the "100 best farm to table restaurants" in the country.

So it was particularly difficult when Tree House decided it was time to find a new home.

Since opening in 2006, business at Tree House has grown considerably. The 20 seat café—with just about 900 square feet of dining and kitchen space combined—started with a staff of two and a half, each taking turns baking, preparing meals and menus, serving customers, and working the register.

Tree House owner Maria Elena Bustamante-Bernal remembers those early days. "Donna, Carole, and I were very busy. We worked long days and tried to support each other the best we could. We were trying to get things started—trying to form a community around this idea of 'local food,' to support farmers, and to offer a dining experience that was unique. It wasn't easy, but we loved what we were doing."

Soon, others came to love Tree House as well. The café staff grew along with the clientele, and business—in particular Tree House's orders for wedding and custom made cakes—demanded that Bustamante-Bernal make a difficult decision.

"We didn't expect such an overwhelming response. By fall of 2007, we'd outgrown our parking lot and were looking for alternatives. We needed a bigger kitchen in order to get orders out quickly, but also so that we had a space we could dedicate to baking and pastry throughout the day."

The tiny kitchen wouldn't allow for that. "I think folks love being able to see everything that's going on in the kitchen," says Bustamante-Bernal, referring to Tree House's unique open kitchen, "to see that everything is made right here as it's ordered—there are no secrets or secret ingredients; no prepackaged, prepared foods go into what we serve. But, at the same time, working in a small kitchen like this can be pretty high stress. We needed a little more room to breathe."

The search for a new location began in earnest in spring 2008. Wedding orders were pouring in to Tree House, stimulated, in part, by a unique partnership with La Posada de Santa Fe, which saw Tree House acting as sole provider of all-organic cakes for the "Green Weddings" taking place at the downtown resort. But, in finding a new spot for the café, Bustamante-Bernal had more than a few criteria driving her choice of location.

"It had to be a place that reflected our core ideals. We're all about sustainability and community, and we couldn't just plunk ourselves down into an empty place on Cerrillos Road—much as we'd love the visibility. We were looking for a spot that would feel like home—a place where people could come to eat, hang out, enjoy each other's company, and maybe buy a slice of cake or a few cupcakes to take home with them."

At the same time Rick Brenner, managing member of Las Bodegas LLC, was finalizing the plans for the second phase of development at the Lena Street Lofts, plans that he hoped would include a restaurant.

The Lena Street Lofts are located at the end of a small byway off Second Street near where the Cloud Cliff Bakery and Café used to be located. The development—primarily made up of live/work loft spaces—counts among its tenants Artman Productions, Frankie Flats Bicycle Shop, and the Trust for Public Land. Just beyond a fence bordering the property, lie the tracks of the new Rail Runner Express and it's urban trail bustling with joggers, bicyclists, and determined canines with owners in tow.

"The fit just seemed right," says Bustamante-Bernal. "Back in June of '07, I had read about the solar panels Rick was installing, and, though I had no idea where Lena Street was, I thought it sounded like a cool project. The fact that the development is a combination of residential and commercial, the proximity of the rail trail, the location of the Trust for Public Land's offices just next door—all of these things were very appealing to me. The more Rick and I talked," she continues, "the more I was convinced that Tree House had found it's new home."

So Bustamante-Bernal made the decision to close at the Plants of the Southwest immediately following the Christmas rush. Although the kitchen is still in operation—even January has its fair share of weddings—the café closed for service on December 23rd. After taking a short break to enjoy the holidays with her family, Bustamante-Bernal will spend January packing up and moving the café to Lena Street for an anticipated February opening.

As the café transitions from gravel walkways, mud plastered walls, and natural vigas to a decidedly urban setting, the change would appear to some to be dramatic. Does Bustamante-Bernal worry that customers will miss the pastoral setting at Plants of the Southwest?

"I know we're giving up a lot by moving out of the nursery, and we'll certainly miss being here" says Bustamante-Bernal. "But what we're leaving will be outweighed by what we gain: we'll be able to extend our hours and days of operation; the heating and cooling in the new space will allow us to offer some things, like handmade truffles, year-round; and the expanded seating area will make a great space for book clubs, moms’ groups, or other community-minded groups to hold informal meetings. We'll still be serving the same market-based, seasonal menu that we always have—and we'll be doing it in a place that more people will be able to enjoy."

"By moving closer to the city center," she adds, "we're really looking to become more a part of the community—to broaden our clientele, while offering all the same things our customers have come to count on."

"We'll still be 'Tree House'," she says, smiling broadly, "just without the trees—but we're working on that, too."

While Tree House's exact opening date is dependent on permits and installation schedules, Bustamante-Bernal is eager to plant new roots. "We hope to be open by the first of February, so that we can make a big splash around Valentines Day. After all," she says, "with cookies and chocolates and cupcakes on the menu, what could be a better time to introduce ourselves to the neighbors?"

Official news and announcements will appear on the Tree House Web site at www.treehousepastry.com. Look for Tree House to be opening at 1600 Lena Street, Suite A2, in early February 2009.

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