FOR DECADES, the southwest corner of the historic Belén Harvey House Museum was an afterthought. While the front and upstairs of the Spanish Revival–style railroad building are a carefully curated tribute to its early 20th-century heyday as a Fred Harvey lunchroom, reading room, and Harvey Girls’ dormitory, the back area sat mostly vacant. Last summer, Harvey House Museum manager Frances Zeller realized its full potential. “I thought, Why not create a café that feels of the building’s Harvey era?” she says.
Zeller describes the resulting Whistle Stop Café’s colorful and nostalgic aesthetic as “your grandmother’s kitchen.” Mismatched floral china adorns shabby-chic wood tables, while 1920s tchotchkes, delicately embroidered linens, rolling pins, and Clabber Girl Baking Powder tins fill antique hutches. “Our best compliment was someone said it looked like a movie set,” Zeller says.
On Wednesdays, the café offers light fare—spinach quiche, pastries, coffee, and lemonade. A full menu is available Thursday through Saturday, with hearty offerings, like chicken and dumplings and dill seafood chowder. “It’s not supposed to be a Fred Harvey menu,” Zeller explains. “We just wanted to offer comfort foods you can’t get around here.”
An array of decadent old-fashioned baked goods are displayed prominently in the butler’s pantry off the main dining room. During my visit, these included double-stacked strawberry shortcakes, glistening cherry and peach pies, and an ubermoist carrot cake neatly slathered in cream-cheese frosting. “Many are my home recipes,” Zeller says.
But the most endearing part of the charming café isn’t the food or decor. A sign atop every checkerboard-linened table reads: “You’ve probably noticed we’re not ‘seasoned’ waitresses! We’re actually history nerds and Fred Harvey enthusiasts.” The all-volunteer staff donates their time and their tips to the museum, so that all proceeds from the Whistle Stop go toward the upkeep of the nonprofit and to local charities.
“The Harvey museum is a happening little place these days,” Zeller says.
Read more: Find Harvey collectibles for the Fredhead in your life.