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LAKE LINDEN - Candy Schmitt sees advantages to staying small.

At Candie's Cafe, the restaurant she opened at 2006, the staff have known each other for years, they've known the customers for just as long, and you can survey the building with a glance, making wait times virtually non-existent.

"I want to stay small, I want to stay family," Schmitt said. "I want it to stay like it is. It's home."

The restaurant opened two-and-a-half years ago. Schmitt worked in a restaurant for 21 years. She then moved to another restaurant, and then a stint as a home nurse. Neither role felt right.

"We all got together and said, 'Hey, let's do this,'" he said. "And it's gone really well."

The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Breakfast is the main focus: French toast is the specialty, with scrambled eggs and pancakes also the recipients of positive customer feedback.

Schmitt briefly dropped lunch in November after coming back from vacation, before returning it. But another change stuck - lowered prices, a change made in response to the recession.

"If they can't come out to eat, they we won't be here," Schmitt said. "It all adds up."

Schmitt has three employees, all part-time. They've all got families, Schmitt said, so the hours let them get back home before their kids are home from school.

"I don't treat them as employees. I treat them as friends. I'm not bossy at all," she said with a laugh.

Schmitt enjoys a lively give-and-take with the customers, some of whom she's been seeing for 20 years.

With one customer, Schmitt said, "he's always telling me, 'Watch out, you're getting mouthy.'" I tell him, 'You raised me.'"

Larry St. Peter of Hubbell was in enjoying breakfast on a recent day. He's been coming since it opened.

"It's a real nice restaurant, and she does a good job cooking," he said. "It's right on M-26, so she gets lots of coming-through people. It's nice. It does lots for Hubbell."

Garrett Neese can be reached at gneese@mininggazette.com.