Riverview Terrace Cafe & Kitchen Garden: The women leading the local food movement at Taliesin
Many come to Taliesin for the architecture and the opportunity to be immersed in the space Frank Lloyd Wright called home for nearly 50 years. But on this cool, rainy morning there seemed to be just as many guests arriving to simply enjoy a warm beverage and stunning views of the Wisconsin River at Taliesin’s historic cafe.
Riverview Terrace Cafe, the only remaining Frank Lloyd Wright-designed restaurant in the world, is the perfect place to begin a journey around Taliesin. Throughout the rich, historical tour it becomes increasingly clear the vital influence nature, farming and the valley landscape had on the design and structures that exist on the 800-acre estate, including Wright’s home, studio and the school. Honoring the natural beauty and farming culture of the Driftless Region are values that continue to shape the cafe and Taliesin’s Kitchen Garden that now supplies seasonal produce for the restaurant.
A Bite of Local History
As Cafe Manager Keeley Sjostrom bounces from greeting guests to washing dishes—and even jumping on the line if needed— it’s easy to see how in just over a year in the role, she has embraced the thrill and the challenge of running Riverview Terrace Cafe. “My curiosity for food and how it makes us feel is really what pushed me this way,” says Sjostrom. That consideration around how food makes us feel, as well as a focus on working with local producers and Taliesin’s Kitchen Garden, shows up in the menus Sjostrom has rebuilt. Burgers are made from Cates Family Farm beef, located just three miles from the cafe. In the salads you’ll find produce from the Kitchen Garden down the road at Taliesin.
“What I've learned in the last year of being here is how connected food, art and architecture are with this place,” says Sjostrom. That connection, along with renewed menus and expanded hours, has more than just tour guests coming in to grab a bite. “We are seeing a lot of traction on breakfast, and it’s not just from the tour traffic,” says Sjostrom. “It’s from locals. We actually have regulars that are coming in here to eat.” And it’s no wonder why diners would want to return to Riverview Terrace Cafe when you can enjoy a seasonal meal surrounded by history, Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture and panoramic views of the Wisconsin River.
The Art of the Garden
A short drive down the road from Riverview Terrace Cafe, Kitchen Gardener Abbie Lehman is harvesting the last of the summer tomatoes and peppers while the butternut squash grow ever larger. “This year we will supply over 70 varieties of produce to the cafe throughout the season,” says Lehman, but the Kitchen Garden at Taliesin acts as not only a production space but also one for education. “We have gardening classes that we do here as well as foraging classes that I teach on the trails on the estate.”
Lehman is a natural teacher, her eyes lighting up as she has us smell and taste wild bergamot, lemon balm and more vibrant herbs all destined for cafe dishes or to become specialty teas. Lehman and Sjostrom have partnered together, allowing the cafe menus to influence what is grown in the Kitchen Garden, but also having the menus reflect what is seasonal and native to the region. In addition to more native species, Lehman is adding more edible perennials every year to the garden, allowing her to bring more local food to the cafe while bringing the garden into a greater harmony with nature—an intention Wright would surely have been behind. “I think the tenets that we have here in the garden flow naturally with [Wright’s] history here and I think he would appreciate it.”
Riverview Terrace Cafe is open year-round for breakfast and lunch. Check their website for hours of operation.
Riverview Terrace Cafe • 5607 County Road C, Spring Green • TaliesinPreservation.org/Cafe
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