Two Longtime Friends Open New Cafe in Downtown Claremont

Nearly 40 years ago, Debbie Richards walked into Dusty's Cafe in Claremont as a 12-year-old looking for a job. Sandra Lefebvre, who owned the business, told her to come back with the appropriate working papers, then put her to work. That moment set in motion a friendship and professional partnership that has now produced Cardinal Cafe, a new breakfast and lunch spot on Glidden Street.

Lefebvre eventually sold Dusty's and split time between Claremont and California, where she opened another location. Around 2019 she returned to Claremont full-time and later launched a food trailer called East and West, LLC, which Richards helped her run for two summers before it closed in 2024.

Now, almost 40 years after Richards first walked through Lefebvre's doors, the old friends and business partners are back with Cardinal Cafe. Both Lefebvre, who is 69, and Richards are Stevens High School alumni, and the cafe's decor pays tribute to their alma mater, with the school's mascot appearing on the mugs and in the cafe's name. "We figured it would be good for the community," Richards said of the tribute to Stevens, especially as the Claremont schools are struggling while the district works through a multi-million dollar budget deficit.

The menu offers classic diner fare: omelets, eggs, pancakes, home fries, coffee and espresso drinks, plus a lunch lineup of burritos, wraps, hot dogs, and salads. On a recent Tuesday morning, customers polished off loaded home fries topped with sour cream, melted cheese, bacon, and green onions for $7, alongside an $11 loaded breakfast burrito packed with scrambled eggs, cheese, home fries, onions, peppers, salsa, sour cream, and a choice of bacon, ham, or sausage. Lefebvre, who manages the kitchen, cuts the home fries by hand and cooks them in bacon grease.

New Hampshire gets a nod in the cafe's slogan, "Eat well or die," a play on the Granite State's motto: "Live free or die."

The hours were also a deliberate choice: Lefebvre and Richards opted to open Monday through Saturday starting at 6 a.m., in part because few food establishments in Claremont are open on Mondays. Regular Brian Gobin, a Claremont resident, had already visited three times in just over a week since the cafe opened. Fellow regular Bob Hillsgrove put it simply: "The food's good," he said. "I'm glad this place is here.