Alan Lehman/Daily
Frederic Boukaia holds roasted leg of lamb with country-style white beans, and a half chicken with a salad, at La Niçoise Cafe in Winchester.

By Alex Bridges
Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTE – A restaurateur has brought a southern France taste to downtown Winchester.

But owner Frederic Boukaia, a native of Nice, France, hesitates to call La Niçoise Cafe a restaurant in the traditional sense. He, instead, opts for “cafe,” with hopes that patrons will come either to dine or sit and read while drinking wine, coffee or tea.

“Merci beaucoup,” Boukaia tells two patrons in a thick, French accent, as they leave after eating lunch Friday afternoon.
“We’ll be back again,” one diner replies.

La Niçoise Cafe, a rarity in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, offers cuisine such as roasted leg of lamb stuffed with fresh herbs like rosemary and garlic and served with country-style white beans. Or a person may choose the chicken marinated in olive oil, lemon, garlic, cumin and other herbs and spices.
The menu features dishes made from Boukaia’s family recipes and his collaborations with chef Alexis Kelsor.

“A lot of them are his recipes, recipes he’s brought from home, passed down from his parents,” she said. “It’s based on where he grew up and the cuisine he and his people are used to. And I was classically French-trained, so I take that in my background and put it with what he’s used to in his culture and that’s where our menu came from.”

Boukaia described the cuisine as different from northern France, with very little cream-based sauces, leaning more toward olive oil, herbs and fresh vegetables.
Boukaia opened his cafe, located in the former Tucano’s Restaurant at 12 S. Braddock St. in downtown Winchester, in mid-December. He had worked in numerous hotels and restaurants since 1975, starting in France and then in Washington, and the D.C. metro area.

“I’ve been looking to open my own place for the last 25 years,” Boukaia said. “Every day I have my routine: a cup of coffee and read The Washington Post.”
“Every Sunday I look in the business opportunities and I see there’s a place for me to look at,” he recalled. “I drove in from Leesburg and when I came in, I saw the bricks, the red bricks, and the size of the place and said ‘this is mine,’ this is what I wanted for so many years.’”

Tucano’s offered Brazilian cuisine for about 15 years, according to Karen Helm, director of the Old Town Development Board, when owner and chef, Walner Pires, decided to close and return to Brazil.

Pires took a great deal of care to find another restaurant to fill the space, Helm said, adding that the owner wanted to help bring another cafe or restaurant with an international flair.

“He wanted to keep like a family-style restaurant, and when I talked to him he understood exactly what I was going to do,” Boukaia recalled.

Boukaia thanked the city offices for helping him establish his business. Helm said the city worked with him as he took the necessary steps, including changing the outside appearance which required approval by the Board of Architectural Review.

But Boukaia had another reason to open his own eatery, one familiar to many proprietors.

“I was tired to work for somebody,” he said. “If I had to work hard for 15 hours a day, I wanted to do it for myself.”

Helm said she and her husband were among the many people to dine at the cafe on New Year’s Eve, where patrons made reservations to ensure having a table.

Boukaia said he had expected 30 people that night — instead he had 80. He noted he opened without advertising, or what Helm called “a soft opening,” relying only by word of mouth or passersby traveling on Braddock Street.

The atmosphere works well for the type of eatery he hoped to start, Boukaia said. The traffic along Braddock Street also helps his business, as does its proximity to the nearby parking garage and the downtown walking mall.

“What’s good about this place is nobody can hide from me,” he said, referring to the open construction of the dining area, with its red brick walls and small cafe tables under soft lighting.

While Boukaia cooks, operating the cafe takes much of his time, making the addition of staff necessary.

“Unless I am a Superman, I cannot be in two places at the same time,” Boukaia said.

Kelsor assists in the kitchen.

“I have more freedom to express myself in my food, unlike in a chain restaurant, I would have that chance at all,” Kelsor said.

Boukaia still lives in Leesburg with his wife and two of their four children, three of whom he said may work in his cafe.

“A neighborhood cafe is what I want it to be,” Boukaia said. “Nothing fancy. Nothing pretentious. I want people to be comfortable in my place.”

“If they want to come, have a book, eat a Salade Niçoise, drink a glass of wine and enjoy the afternoon. That’s what I want, like we do in France.”

Prices from $6.50 for classic French onion soup to less than $30 for larger menu items. The menu offers children’s portions, a wine list and desserts.

The cafe hours, menus and other information are listed on its Web site at www.lanicoisecafe.com. Closed Mondays, La Niçoise Cafe serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday brunch is served from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Contact Alex Bridges at abridges@nvdaily.com