The homey atmosphere invites customers to sit down in a booth, relax and enjoy an old-fashioned breakfast and lunch made from scratch in the kitchen of the Perry Street Café in Cheney.

The café is decorated with shelves full of antiques such as old signs, bottles, black and white pictures, horseshoes and oil lamps. The owner, Geoff White, will give customers a free meal if they bring in something from before the 1920s, and that is how he decorates his restaurant. Most of the items on the shelves were donated by Cheney locals.

White also owns a Perry Street Café on Perry Street in Spokane. It has been in business for six years, whereas the one in Cheney opened up on May 31. The Perry Street location is relatively busy during the breakfast hours and has the same menu as the Cheney location.

White originally owned another location in the parking lot of the present location in Cheney. It burned down, forcing him to relocate.

The inspiration behind White’s business was to provide people with down-home cooking, and this is reflected by the choices on the menu. Customers may choose from the “Deli Sammitch,” eggs, “taters,” French toast, bacon, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and “true grits.” There is also a special menu with different prices for seniors.

“We serve breakfast all day; that’s what we do best,” said White.

“My favorite are the home fries,” said Diane Sheehan, a waitress at the café. The home fries are blanched, soaked and then slapped on the grill with onions and peppers.

“I think that the salads are also really good too. They are very huge. Nothing comes to our café frozen in a package, and we don’t use the microwave often; everything is homemade.”

According to Sheehan, the Cheney locals love the café. There are several regulars.

“The ‘Reuben Sammitch’ is my favorite here,” said Wayne Gilbreagh, a cook. “Either that or the corned beef hash for breakfast. I make it right here in the house.”

Gilbreagh has 31 years of experience in the culinary arts. He served as a cook in the military.

Both Gilbreagh and Sheehan have worked at the café in Cheney since it opened.

Gilbreagh says the best thing that this restaurant has to add to the Cheney dining experience is that “the food is not fake.”

A large chalkboard decorated with the café’s name shows customers the special of the day.

According to Sheehan, each item on the menu is made to order, doesn’t sit under heat lamps and tastes just like old-fashioned cooking.

“Customers love the food,” said Sheehan. “They are glad we finally have a breakfast place in Cheney.”