By By KATHIE HEMPEL / Niles Daily Star
NILES-Tucked in the back of the Four Flags Antique Mall, 218 N. Second St., is the new Purple Rose Cafe. Owner Julia Hoskins looked forward to Grand Opening day for a long time.
"God gives everyone a talent. You have to find out what you are meant to do. I am very creative and a great cook. I always dreamed that one day I would be able to cook as much as I wanted to and have someone else do the dishes and here I am," Hoskins said.
Hoskins' niece, Alisha Coleman, 18, left her second semester at California State University, Chico, to come and help her aunt prepare for the opening, held April 18. Tom DeYoung, 17, a junior at Niles high school will be working Saturdays and throughout the summer.
"He makes a mean Chicago dog. Both of these kids helped me set up the location and get ready for today. I could not have done it without them," Hoskins said.
Hoskin and her husband Michael, moved to Niles seven years ago. The couple has four children; Aubreylee, 15, Michael Gene, 13, Jan, 23 and Daniella, 24.
Hoskins home schooled her children until two and a half years ago when she began a home business combining her love of cooking and creativity to make custom wedding cakes. While she loved the creative decorating she found waiting for several layers to come out of the oven a bit boring.
Two years ago, she turned her creative eye to the design of gift baskets. She opened her first Niles business making custom baskets for all occasions.
"Although I have some gift baskets ready-made and on our shelves, I prefer to start from scratch for each customer. I try to find out as much as I can about the recipients and to personalize the basket to the person who will receive it. Now with the opening of the Cafe, we can offer custom baskets and custom food," she said.
Hoskins is open to suggestions when it comes to her menu. Juan Ganum, Community Director for Niles, suggested he would like to see a "Detroit-styled dog."
Hoskins suggested that those attending the grand opening bring in their favorite soup recipe. All soups offered are homemade at the cafe.
Other menu items include sandwiches made on a variety of breads, handmade and delivered daily from Breadsmith in South Bend. The bread selection contains no preservatives.
"It's like you have made the bread yourself at home. At the end of the day, we will sell any leftover partial loaves for a dollar," she said.
Desserts are brought in from Sweet Street, which Hoskins says is the number one maker of commercial desserts in the U.S.
"They are sinfully wonderful and made from whole eggs, real butter and cream cheese and again have no preservatives. I warn you. You may have to share the deep chocolate cake with a friend. It's that rich and no one has been able to finish a whole one by themselves yet," she said.
Now that the cafe is opened, Hoskins is looking to bringing in more and more locally produced food products for her gift baskets. She wants everything she sells to be U.S. made.
"If I can't get it locally, I will look in Berrien County. If not there, I will look in Michigan and Michiana. I will not got outside of the U.S. for products," she said.
She actually opened the cafe on a smaller scale Hunter Ice Festival weekend. Since that time, more people have discovered her by word of mouth.
"I went outside into the crowd and passed out flyers and kept mentioning hot soup and hot cider and hot sandwiches. People began to come in out of the cold during the festival just to get warm," she said.
Currently the business will be open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hoskins plans to offer the location as a WiFi hotspot soon.