Two Trees and new chef to part ways

After just five months as head chef at the Two Trees Cafe, Michael Jacobs is throwing in the dish towel.

"I'm retiring," Jacobs said. "Things didn't go as planned."

According to Jacobs, the Co-op Bookstore's foray into the food service business never attracted the volume of customers Jacobs had hoped for.

"I don't think it was a lack of appreciation for the food," Jacobs said. "We have a loyal following. It's a question of economics. They can't afford me."

The restaurant was created this summer to help ease the Co-op's financial woes. The store has been spiraling into debt since the Co-op built a new store in 1992. Earlier this year, the bookstore began to eye the space occupied by Irene's as a potential source of income. Irene's was soon replaced by Two Trees Cafe.

Although the Co-op's deal with the Feve kept Two Trees from serving bagels, Jacobs found his niche in global comfort food. Jacobs created a menu of lentil burgers, quesadillas and sweet potato hash.

"College students weren't as open as I thought," Jacobs said. "I had to tone down the flavors. The Kendal people seemed to like the food."

Jacobs came to Ohio from Texas expecting to become part of a thriving college town. He soon discovered that Oberlin wasn't exactly Austin.

"I'm bored," Jacobs said. "There's not enough here to keep me here. I don't mind being a small fish in a big pond, but this is a puddle. I've got better things to do."

Jacobs hopes to eventually own his own restaurant, although he is not yet sure what he'll do immediately after leaving Oberlin. Jacobs is slated to work part-time at Two Trees until the end of the year.

Plans for the restaurant following Jacobs' departure have not yet been announced. Alison Meyers, general manager of the Co-op Bookstore, said "Of course, we have plans. It isn't offical news yet."

Jacobs, lamenting the lack of small boutiques and cafes in Oberlin, worries about the future of the Co-op. "I'm more a business man than anyone else who works here, and part of that is what keeps the Co-op from being successful," Jacobs said. "But if the Co-op fails, it will be a loss to everyone."

Get it while you can: Two Trees Cafe chef Michael Jacobs is on the way out. Jacobs will be leaving the cafe at the end of the year after joining the staff in the summer. (photo by Matthew Green)