By Ben Antonius | Daily Republic | May 01, 2009
Esperanza Valle, the baker at Du-Par's Restaurant and Bakery in Vacaville, holds one of her raspberry pies. The Vacaville location is the first one in Northern California for the company. Photo by Brad Zweerink
VACAVILLE - If location is everything in real estate, a popular Southern California restaurant chain has found the perfect spot for its northern debut.
Du-par's recently opened its first Northern California eatery, taking over the building at the intersection of Alamo Drive and Merchant Street. The site was acquired along with another location from previous tenant Baker's Square, which is going through bankruptcy.
'We took one in San Diego and that one (in Vacaville) together,' Du-par's owner Biff Naylor said. 'We are running an average of about 50 percent sales (above) where they were. It has been a great acquisition for us. I think the transition in terms of the community has been great.'
Like its predecessor in the building, Du-par's is a family-style restaurant that emphasizes breakfast and bakery-fresh pies. Among its followers, Du-par's is also well-known for its buttermilk pancakes and french toast. Its dinner menu includes meat loaf, chicken fried steak and prime rib.
Naylor said Du-par's makes a point of using fresh ingredients instead of relying on frozen items.
'We do everything fresh in the restaurant every day,' he said. 'We ground our own hamburger . . . we make our soups and gravy.
'When we came in here, we took their great big freezer and turned the temperature up in the back and turned it into a walk-in fridge.'
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