After being born in Haiti and emigrating to Naples with her family when she was 7, Wideline Atilard always held on to the belief that America is the land of opportunity.
“I always say that because as long as you’re here, if you have the right mindset, you have the work ethic and you’re willing to [work], you can be anything,” she said.
Atilard turned her dreams into reality when she opened Cadeau Cafe, 10650 Metro Parkway, Unit 101, in Fort Myers last week.
Cadeau, meaning gift in French, is Atilard’s way of giving back to a community that welcomed her in 2000. “Somebody gave me a gift and said ‘cadeau’,” she said. “It just stuck with me. It’s just like a gift cafe, a gift that I’m giving to everyone.”
The cafe serves coffee and Caribbean-influenced treats, offering a variety of hot, cold and frozen drinks with breakfast or lunch.
Honoring her Haitian background, Atilard recommends anything on the menu that incorporates the taste of cremas, the celebration drink of Haiti. Cremas is a mix of condensed and evaporated milk, which is enhanced with cream of coconut, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and lime.
The menu’s iced cremas latte, the cremas frappe and the Creole waffle incorporate a little taste of home for Atilard and perhaps something new for guests.
“I just try to incorporate my culture, the way I cook things or the way my mom used to make things,” she said. “That’s how I cook for me and my kids, and I’m just incorporating it to give to the world.”
All coffees are custom roasted in Lehigh Acres, offering Italian espresso and coffee, a Columbian blend and a Cuban blend. A self-proclaimed coffee aficionado, Atilard recommends starting with a latte and adding in any flavoring the cafe offers, such as vanilla, caramel, white chocolate and raspberry.
For guests who want to start off with Atilard’s favorite, the espresso bonbon is a play off the cafe bombon, a sweet espresso drink that originated in Spain.
“It’s like a dessert, it’s so sweet,” she said. “it’s just my different take on it. So, I call it bonbon, which means candy in French.”
Atilard also plans to incorporate specialty coffees monthly, with drinks ranging from $3 to $9.
To pair with the array of beverages, Atilard curated a breakfast and lunch menu that brings customers back to the basics.
“It’s simple, but delicious,” she said. “It’s things that people would want every day.”
Breakfast options include chocolate croissants, waffles, breakfast sandwiches and tacos. The waffles come in different variations, such as a chocolate waffle topped with strawberries and a chocolate drizzle, the strawberry shortcake waffle stuffed with strawberries and cream and the classic red velvet waffle. Breakfast ranges from $8 to $15.
Lunch options include handhelds, nachos and salads ranging from $10 to $15.
Avocado toast has been a favorite for visitors, topped with feta and served with an egg, tomato and lime.
The cafe seats a total of 20 people, with the option to expand to 40 seats in the future. “I didn’t want it to be overcrowded and I wanted people to have room,” Atilard said.
Having sufficient room for people to move around was also motivated by the interior design of the cafe, featuring multiple photo-ops in the sea of pink and green with gold accents.
Pink and green neon signs on greenery wall panels, a hand-built pink phone booth with roses and an art gallery wall featuring art from local thrift stores and original pieces by local Haitian and Black artists contributes to what Atilard describes as a warm and inviting environment.
“This is a dream come true,” she said. “I’m living my biggest dream, and I’m living other people’s dreams right now. Everything on the menu is from my heart. It’s things that I eat, things that I love. It’s my culture, and it’s my gift to them.”
Cadeau Cafe is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
