Is this downtown Akron's best-kept secret? Chameleon Café shows its colors | Local Flavor

If pursuing a goal doesn’t feel a little like chasing rainbows, it’s likely not ambitious enough.

Mike and Adria Buzek not only caught one of those elusive rainbows, but weaved it into the very fabric of their chameleon-themed businesses in downtown Akron.

It’s okay to ask, I was curious too. Why attach your culinary brand to a color-changing lizard?

The chameleon is known for its adaptability, a characteristic the couple’s restaurant, Chameleon Café, and catering company, The Culinary Chameleon, strive to embody.

Based on their recent uptick in business and my visit, I’d say their efforts haven’t been wasted.

What to order at Chameleon Café

When I went to the café and ordered a cilantro lime chicken panini ($10.29) without cheese, I got exactly that. Asking for the dish wasn’t a hassle, no one behind the counter gave me weird looks and my food came out correctly – it was like a dream come true.

Their business’ motto, “Our menu changes to meet your needs,” certainly shines through on the menu, where nearly any dish can be made vegan, vegetarian, dairy free or gluten free.

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My friend Sarah accompanied me to lunch but didn’t need to modify her butterbeer latte ($4.99), bacon pickle grilled cheese ($7.98) or kettle chips ($2.49).

The verdict: Those at the sandwich station didn’t skimp, ensuring she had bacon and pickle in every bite. Though she wishes she’d ordered the latte iced. She also mentioned that her “chips were chippin’.” I’m still not sure what this last comment means exactly, but it was said in a positive tone so it’s likely praise of some sort.

In addition to my panini, I ordered a sparkling raspberry lemonade ($3.99) served over popping boba pearls and their house-made salted caramel and snickerdoodle cookies ($1 each). Our total cost for lunch was $32.01.

The lemonade could’ve been a dessert in and of itself. The drink was full of flavor even before hitting the popping pearls at the bottom, which turned it up a notch (in the best way). You really can’t have too many dessert options though, so I’m glad I bought of those soft, sweet cookies to munch on too.

Chameleon Café’s cilantro lime chicken panini is its best-selling menu item, according to Adria. The dish is made up of baked chicken breast, provolone, smoked gouda and cilantro sandwiched between rustic panini bread that’s been toasted in lime butter. The tanginess of lime and cilantro were present but not too overpowering and coupled perfectly with the café’s creamy ’23 sauce.

While eating, I couldn’t quite put my finger on what made up the ‘23 sauce. Turns out that’s because the base is a combination of soy sauce, garlic, ginger and Mae Ploy sweet chili sauce. Chameleon Café goes through gallons of their ‘23 sauce and white French dressing each day. People have even asked Adria when they are going to start selling it in bottles.

A rainbow of flavors at Chameleon Café

Those looking for less traditional café fare at Chameleon Café have quite a few options.

You can choose from Adria’s personal favorites, the sweet potato apple salad and sweet potato black bean burrito, or order a Korean chicken power bowl, the restaurant’s second best seller.

Adria’s passion for cooking with new ingredients is the reason behind their twist on many café classics, like the candied bacon club wrap, chicken caprese salad and khao soi Thai curry chicken power bowl.

“I have a hard time just doing everyday food. I kind of go global when I come up with menu items,” Adria said. “I like to play with new ingredients that I've never tried before. I watch a lot of street food videos on YouTube and go to all the Asian markets and European markets and grab new ingredients that I've never heard of, never tasted, never cooked with, and just come up with different ways to use them.”

Every two months or so a portion of the drink menu is rotated out, so customers always have the next batch of lattes, lemonades or energy drinks to look forward to.

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Besides eating and drinking, co-working is another great way to spend time in Chameleon Café. While the space is small, the Buzeks have made it cozy and with lots of seating. Plus, there are a number of vintage household items to check out when you want to procrastinate.

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The front room where customers order is a pretty colorful space to take in even if you’re just hanging out for breakfast or lunch.

I’ve always wanted what I call a rainbow house, where every room or wall is a different color. Chameleon Café is like that dream house but in café form. Though none of the walls were painted, there are doors of various hues hanging on one wall, and another is dominated by a bright blue bookshelf. Not to mention the rainbow signage and seating outside.

Past and future of Chameleon Café

Mike's journey into food service began at 18 years old with a food concession business and progressed into management positions in a few local restaurant concepts. Once he saw that Seiberling Federal Building’s cafeteria was up for bid, he left Romano's Macaroni Grill to open Culinary Chameleon Catering & Café with Adria in 2007.

Nine years later the pair opened Chameleon Café across the street to serve those who enjoyed the food at the Culinary Chameleon Catering & Café but didn’t want to go through the federal building’s security to get lunch. The space was previously home to The Stew Pot Kitchen.

Today the pair plays to their strengths to keep the café running, with Mike handling most of the behind the scenes and money management tasks while Adria creates and executes its drink and food menus.

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Despite the odds, both restaurants survived the Main Street construction and Covid-19 pandemic and are now thriving. Adria said the café used to make tons of bakery items, but business has picked up so quickly this past year they had to scale back to cookies and sometimes scones.

“I have gone home in tears recently wondering where it's all come from. [We] just never in a million years thought that we would have the daily sales that we have,” Adria said. “Even with First Energy gone, who was 75% of our customer base before they left, it just picked up like crazy. We have people coming in from the BLU-Tique Hotel [and] every business all down Main Street.”

The Buzeks may open a second Chameleon Café at some point in the future but are not quite ready to give in to customer’s demands for dinner service as they’d need to hire a whole new staff.

Don’t be too disappointed, they’ll have a pumpkin marshmallow cream frappe on their menu soon enough (and it may even be topped with torched marshmallow crème).

Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Twitter @TawneyBeans.

Details

Place: Chameleon Café Akron

Address: 23 S. Main St., Akron

Phone: 234-334-3603

Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Website: chameleoncafeakron.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Chameleon Café serves coffee, fusion fare in downtown Akron