OUR STORY
OUR STORY
DREAMS DO COME TRUE
BJ & NICOLE
In a time where most street corners are dotted with chain restaurants, we'd like to welcome you to something more personal: a family-owned restaurant
where our goal is not only to know your name, but how you like your coffee.
Where good, home-cooked food
is the order of the day and only the freshest ingredients are used.
Where you can eat breakfast all day or a reuben at 7AM. A place where you can just come, be yourself
and fill up on our "Diner Food with a Gourmet Twist and a Hint of Southern Roots".
CHEF BJ MIKODAChef & Owner
Thank you for visiting Valley Café. My family, my friends, my customers and my restaurants are the most important things in my life. For over 30 years I have given everything to the restaurant industry. The joy I feel of being a restaurant owner is returned every single day when my staff and I get to serve you our amazing food and customer service. Thank you for being part of our amazing journey.
For over 30 years Chef BJ has had his fingers in the restaurant business. It started when he put himself through college by owning a Greek restaurant near the campus of Florida State University (Go Noles!). After earning his degree in Finance and Marketing, he went into corporate America and enjoyed a successful career for over 20 years; but he never gave up on owning another restaurant.
Once he and his wife, Nicole, got married and started a family, they both realized that they had an entrepreneurial spirit
that traditional jobs could not satisfy. They longed to work in an environment where they could live in their priorities:
God, Family, Career, rather than someone else's.
Nicole's opportunity arrived first when over 20 years ago she started a business selling lipstick and developing leaders for a "world-famous cosmetics company". It is a company that fiercely guards its trademark, but here's a hint: 2 of her 11 company cars have been Pink Cadillacs! For more clues go to: MaryKay.com/nmikoda.
In August 2008, BJ and Nicole purchased the Valley CafeĢ, fulfilling BJ’s dream
to be back in the restaurant world while still being able to be home at night with his family. Then in the spring of 2015 they opened their second location in Wadsworth.
BJ’s background in fine dining and his southern roots, coupled with his love of basic homemade dishes gives our food a unique flavor that you won't find anywhere else.
Both BJ and Nicole are here regularly. They are all just here "living the dream" and we invite you to be a part of it.
OUR
CORE
VALUES
OWNERSHIP MINDSET: We think, act and perform by taking responsibility for our individual results and area.
RELIABLE: We show up before we are needed. We stay until our work is done.
CELEBRATE LIFE: We celebrate seasons and transitions in life with our staff, our guests, our community and our vendors because people matter the most.
HARD WORK: We intentionally choose to offer food and service beyond industry standards; by doing so, we have self-selected to work harder to achieve the excellence we want.
HONEST: We don’t lie, cheat, or steal, or participate in the lie of omission.
TEAM WORK: We all win together, we all lose together. What happens to one impacts all.
GOSSIP HURTS PEOPLE: We send negatives up and spread positives all around. We express negatives to leaders who can impact change and speak positively to and about everyone else.