Richard Wall is the chef and owner of Both Ways Cafe located in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle.

Describe your menu/ restaurant
Homey, nothing too fancy. Everything’s made from scratch here.

What do you look for in ingredients?
For the most part, I’m price driven. I do what I can and hit produce stands and farmers market when possible.

Busiest time of week?
Weekends…weekdays are steady but quiet.

Most popular item on the menu?
The “spinach havarti scramble”…the “Northwest scramble.” Soups and stews go pretty quickly.

Your favorite thing on the menu?
I like the soups. Other than that, I like a basic breakfast- eggs over easy, home fries, biscuit.

Number of employees?
Just one full time, besides myself. Five part time.

What item on the menu is most labor intensive?
The salsa takes a good amount of prep time. Baked goods like the brioche and danish require some dough work.

History of the cafe?
We were downtown for nine years near the ferry walkway. There was a whole lot of traffic outside our doors so we went with the name “Both Ways Cafe”. We did a lot of business out of that space…catering also. The dot com boom came and moved us out of that location so we came here.

How are your own eating habits reflected in what you serve here?
I make food that I like to eat.

Most challenging part of the industry?
Making money and keeping the regulars happy.

Future plans for the cafe?
I would like to host dinner parties…some music or poetry nights. Maybe wine tasting.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Seattle?
I like Macrina. Serafina in Eastlake is great too.

What do you do with your free time?
I have two kids, they re 10 and 12 years old. I go to their soccer and baseball games. I like to ski and ride my bke. My wife doesnt like to cook so I tend to cook a lot at home.

What types of food do you like?
Stir Fries, the flavors of ginger and garlic, simple seafood, brownies, chocolate wafers, Mexican food.

What was your first job?
I worked at a cheese shop in Connecticut. The “New Canaan Cheese Shop” when I was 16. It pretty much sealed my fate in the food world. It was such an amazing store, there were these huge wheels of cheese…brie, parmesan. Everything was freshly cut per order.

Any rants?
I think that the repetition of training new employees can get a little annoying. Or the customer that gives you no details with their order- “Ill have a latte”- what size? or “a tea”- what type of tea? It just ends up wearing on you.

Sweet or Savory?
Savory…with a little nibble of sweet afterwards.

Anything you wont eat?
There are certain types of sushi that I’m afraid of.