New Geneva café fulfills owner’s lifelong dream

Noris Hemingway’s lifelong dream of opening a restaurant came true last week when she opened the doors to Noris Cuisine: Little Café in Geneva.
“My passion is cooking,” said Hemingway, who is no stranger to the kitchen or restaurants.
She grew up working in her family’s restaurant in Venezuela, along with her mother, father, brother and sister.
She came to Minnesota about 20 years ago to visit friends and never left.
“I love Minnesota, but I hate winter,” said Hemingway.
About five years ago, Hemingway took a partial step toward fulfilling her dream. She began serving Venezuelan and other Latin American food from the Noris Cuisine: Food Truck seasonally. She and the food truck regularly travel to Northfield, Owatonna, Mankato, Rochester and the Twin Cities.
And she’s built quite a clientele. Nearly 2,500 people follow her on Facebook and on the opening day of the café, there was a steady flow of customers.
Reactions, which could be overheard from a neighboring table, ranged from: “The food is really good” to “Wow. This is way too cool for Geneva.”
Hemingway’s daughter, Aracelis Sepulveda, works with her mother at the café. The 19-year-old University of Minnesota student manages the café’s baristas and front end of the café. She also said she is responsible for the café’s décor.
Hemingway is the chef and in charge of all things related to the kitchen, said Sepulveda.
“We wanted to bring a ‘Cities feel’ to Geneva,” Sepulveda said. “We wanted to bring something new. There’s nothing like this around here.”
All but three of the menu items are gluten-free, and there are vegan and vegetarian options.
Items specific to her mother’s Latin American roots include Arepas, Chachapas and Empanadas. The café also serves an All-American breakfast and a variety of hot and cold drinks, including lattes, cappuccino, macchiato drinks.
Sepulveda plans to come home every other weekend during the school year to work in the café.
The café hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. It is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Hemingway co-owns the building that houses the café. Her partner, Kathy Wayne, is a nurse practitioner and plans to open a wellness center that offers massage and possibly acupuncture in the other half of the building in the fall.