Clarksville, TN – Keeping secrets is hard, except when it comes to fantastic restaurants. Sometimes, you hear about a place with great food and service, and think that must be new, only to discover that it has been around for months or even years.
Many in Clarksville heard about Cafe 931 for the first time when its owner, Claudia Oakes, and a couple of her signature items were featured on a Food Network show that focused on five of Clarksville’s outstanding locally-owned restaurants.
Cafe 931 has been in business since 2016. Oakes started with a catering business in Oregon, then eventually moved to Tennessee, where she had the opportunity to open the restaurant. “It took off pretty fast,” Oakes said. “We’re from Southern California and we like to say our flavor is from So. Cal. When we got open during the pandemic we had a lot of people who couldn’t travel home, so they would come here to eat and they were like, ‘oh gosh, this feels like home’. We even had some customers who would cry, and say, ‘I haven’t been able to go home. This just tastes like home.’”
Born in Los Angeles and raised in Pomona, 931 delivers Mexican food with “Cali” flavor. “We were born and raised in California, most of my family is still there, but my mom is here with us, she is from Guadalajara, Mexico,” Oakes said. “We have traveled all over, and the flavors and recipes are just different. For example, a burrito, there are some places that cover them with cheese, we don’t do that.”
Oakes said that when her family first arrived in Tennessee, they would go to restaurants, and things would come out covered in cheese. “We would have to make a mental note – next time, no cheese, but then we would forget,” Oakes laughed. “When we opened Cafe 931 we were thinking fast, grab and go. We didn’t have much seating area. We said, let’s continue our burritos and do them without queso. Let’s do it the way we like it, so that’s rice, beans cilantro, onions – that’s a Cali burrito.”
Cafe 931 does street tacos using two small tortillas, but on Tuesday nights they offer a homemade tortilla that is a little bigger and thicker. The restaurant’s big sellers are, for breakfast, the bacon chorizo burrito – Mexican sausage, potatoes, eggs and bacon, and of course the biscuits and gravy burrito.
During a recent food Network show that was shot in Clarksville, one of Claudia’s originals, the biscuits and gravy burrito got lots of attention. “After the show, everybody comes in for the biscuits and gravy burrito. They say we saw this on Food Network. That’s the one we want to try.”
Oakes said her appearance on that show was definitely a boost for business. “Yes, we’re getting people from all over the U.S. They saw us and they want to come and try us. We have people driving in from Florida and Texas, and others doing day-trips from Ohio and Illinois. They just want to make a day of it, and try what they saw on TV. They also want to visit the other Clarksville restaurants they saw on that show.”
So, where did this unique recipe come from? “I came up with that when I was trying to think outside the box,” Oakes said. “I thought, okay, we’re in the south, so … I was a cook in the Army. One of the first things I learned how to do was biscuits. I thought, this is something we can do, and it might be a hit.”
Oakes says her family came to Clarksville when her Husband received an interesting job offer. “The evolution of the restaurant has been very organic,” Oakes said. “We started with three tables, and then we needed more space, and now we’ve taken over this whole building. Barry, my husband, was working as a regional manager for Bank of America over southern Washington and all of Oregon. He was missing a lot of the kids activities and things like that, working all the time. He said, ‘this is not the life I want to live’. Our friend Randy invited him to check out Clarksville. He came to Tennessee, then came home and said, ‘hey, I think we’re moving to Tennessee’. I said, okay, I’ll follow you wherever you want to go.
“I love it here. I joined the military at the age of 18 and having Fort Campbell here makes it feel like home. This community is a little melting pot. We have a lot of customers who speak Spanish with us, and they love to chat with us.”
Over time, Cafe 931 has added coffee and beer, and now margaritas and different cocktails. The restaurant is open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Saturday, and for dinner on Tuesday nights. Oakes says what makes 931’s food different is how it’s seasoned and the way it’s cooked.
“Ours flavors are a combination of California and Guadalajara,” Oakes said. “That’s where my mom grew up and she really influences the menu, like the Birria. Mom wants to add many more things to the menu but we have to take space and other things into account. She has lots of ideas. I could tell her to go home right now, and she would say, no. She wants to be here in the restaurant, working. She gets here at 5 a.m.”
The restaurant tends to be busier for breakfast than lunch. “Yes, we are a little busier at breakfast,” Oakes said. “This year, we added Mexican French Toast. We use Piloncillo, which is sugar cane. We melt that and add some other things like caramelized banana, and pecans. You can have that with bacon and eggs, but the french toast is big. Mom only knows how to do things big. I recommend people share the pancakes.”
Saturdays are busy at Cafe 931. “We get a lot of families that day. We’re closed on Sundays, and then on Mondays we’re restocking everything. Everything here is fresh.”
Oakes says the most popular lunch items would be the Quesabirria Combo – beef inside a corn tortilla with cheese, cilantro, and onion. “We grille it to make it toasty and give you the broth to dip it in. That combo is very popular. Another popular item is the Ramen Birria, so that’s the noodles, the meat and the juice with cilantro and onion, and quesadillas on the side.
“My favorite item is the Cali Burrito asada. That’s something I grew up with in Cali. In high school there was a Mexican restaurant right across the street, and just about every day I would go there and get a burrito asada.
“Oh, and you have to try the Acai, it’s a berry that grows in Brazil. The Acai bowls started in Brazil, then Hawaii. Our recipe came to us by way of Hawaii. It’s a little sweet, but it has lots of great benefits. If I want something good, but not too heavy, that’s my go-to. It’s very popular.”
Oakes praises her mother, Juana Alvarez. “She stays so busy, as does my nephew,” Oakes said. “These are my mom’s recipes, and my nephew always tells here, ‘Nana, you have to live for a very long time, ’cause I need to learn all these recipes’.
“Whats next? I think we might like to expand our hours of operation, maybe a little more nightlife. There is an opportunity to expand to the outdoors. We would also love to host more events. We do rent out the building as well. This year, on May 3rd we’re going to host a Cinco de Mayo celebration. We’ll have different vendors, live music, dancers, all during out regular hours.
“We also do carry-out and catering. We’ve done events from Nashville to Erin. And, we helped out when the tornado happened. Our team coordinated with Mayor Golden and we were able to set up and give food to volunteers, and those affected.
“We are very grateful to be here, and appreciate all the love and support that Clarksville has given us. Thank you so much We are here to serve you, to pray for you, and laugh with you. I treat everyone here like they are family. Everyone has been so welcoming. Clarksville has been growing a lot , but it still has that small town feel.”
Café 931 is located at 2551 Madison Street in Clarksville, TN.
