Leah Stewart said she loves her new location and the character of the building where steel and wood work beautifully together.

For seven years, The Olive Branch Bakery & Cafe has served up soups, sandwiches, salads and delectable desserts in downtown Waco.

Owner Leah Stewart, a 1998 Baylor University graduate, bought the former La Petite France eatery on Franklin Avenue and quickly made her own mark on downtown dining.

The establishment’s name comes from Genesis 8:9-11. It refers to the biblical story of Noah sending out a dove from the ark after a 40-day flood in hopes of finding dry land. When the dove returned with an olive branch, Noah knew his prayers had been answered.

Jonathan Garza of Red Cap Consulting and Leah Stewart, Olive Branch owner, build on each other’s strengths to run the successful business.

Olive Branch has had three locations, but Leah said she hopes its current site, next to Spice Village at Second Street and Franklin Avenue, will be its permanent home.

“It’s a blessing to be here. This is the perfect location for us,” she said. “We love the character of the building and we’ve signed a long-term lease. It’s a blend of the best things. It’s probably the only place we could do stainless steel and wood together and have it make sense.”

No matter where the restaurant has ventured, customers have followed.

“I was a little apprehensive about us moving again, but this was such a golden opportunity,” Leah said. “We were so over-the-top excited about being here. We just hoped the customers wouldn’t get frustrated with having to follow us to a different place again.”

The first move took place because a new development at Fourth Street and Austin Avenue offered her the chance to expand the business. But moving into that location was delayed, and Olive Branch was closed for about a year.

“I was afraid people would think we weren’t going to reopen,” Leah said. She took that time to get involved in the community, work on perfecting recipes and to assist with the menu for another restaurant, the Square Bar. Although that establishment closed, Olive Branch continues to attract daily crowds of people clamoring for the restaurant’s specialties and personal touch.

Leah’s first love is working in the kitchen, creating recipes and fine-tuning each dish.

All of the sauces, soups, breads and every baked item is made fresh daily on site. One of Leah’s favorite creations is her Caesar dressing, and she also loves the chocolate chip pancakes. Olive Branch serves breakfast starting at 7 a.m. weekdays (8 a.m. weekends), and those menu items are available all day.

Ashley Millerd takes fresh loaves of bread from the oven, a task she performs many times each day.

The breakfast menu also features omelettes, eggs cooked to order, French toast, a variety of wraps, potatoes and croissants.

Two of the restaurant’s signature lunch dishes are pesto chicken and orchard salad. But an array of items are available. The fresh-baked bread accompanying dishes is a customer favorite.

Olive Branch also has its own distinctive blends of coffee. When looking for a new autumn blend, several customers tasted different options and helped Leah select a favorite.

Over the past two years, Jonathan Garza has been a tremendous help to Leah in managing the business.

Jonathan, who has a business called Red Cap Consulting, works with Olive Branch on a variety of issues behind the scenes.

Leah said he helps schedule employees and keep things flowing smoothly, allowing more time for her to do what she likes best — cook and interact with customers.

“He’s really helped me grow the business in a way I couldn’t before,” she said. “I had been the only one making decisions, and I needed another set of eyes and another perspective, a check and balance. It’s especially helped me in the catering business.”

She said Jonathan is often on the phone or computer interacting with customers or suppliers while she’s standing over the stove or in the serving line. They say the partnership has been a big boost to the business.

“It allows us to respond to the customers’ needs more quickly,” Leah said. “That’s my first priority. I want them to have immediate attention.”

She said her work day often starts at 6 a.m., and with catering, can often last until 9 p.m. It’s not unusual for her to spend seven days a week working for Olive Branch in some capacity.

A hearty club sandwich, $8.15.

In the past year, the restaurant’s catering business has boomed.

“It used to be about 10 percent of our business, now it’s about 30 percent,” Leah said. “We do a lot of off-site catering, especially for lunch.”

She teams with kitchen manager Michael Carney, a chef who attended school in Austin, to prepare the dishes that make the restaurant a popular downtown destination for breakfast and lunch.

Olive Branch also caters rehearsal dinners, wedding receptions and other special events. The business has come a long way from its early days.

“When she started, she had the previous owner’s recipes,” Jonathan said, “but she’s modified them and put her own touch on them over the last six years.”

He said he’s amazed by her attention to detail, noting that she can often figure out which customer has ordered an item by their preference of toppings.

Leah was business manager at Common Grounds coffee house for six years prior to starting her own business. She said the owners of La Petite France sold pastries to Common Grounds, and she became friends with them.

“One day they offered to sell me their business, and I said, ‘Sure, why not.’ ”

Leah said running a restaurant proved to be a much bigger task than she had imagined.

“A lot more went into it than I expected, and that’s still true,” she said. “I had a really steep learning curve, but I found I really enjoyed working in the kitchen. I really love the creative aspect of it.”

A beautifully made orchard salad, $7.25.

That creativity led Leah to publish her own cookbook. It is sold at Olive Branch and Gourmet Gallery, 2056 N. Valley Mills Drive, where she sometimes teaches cooking classes.

Fortunately for Leah, her job is also her hobby.

She said she started baking in high school and enjoyed it.

“It’s a stress-reliever and a creative release,” she said. “In college, most of my friends cooked and we’d try new recipes on each other.”

Leah, who describes herself as an “Army brat,” grew up in Panama while her dad served there. The family later moved to Virginia and finally Fort Hood.

“I call Texas home, and I’m really blessed to be in Waco,” she said. “The only reason I have a business is because I happened to be here when the right opportunity came along, and I love making my home here. There are lots of good people in Waco. That’s one of the best things about the city.”

Meanwhile, being in the restaurant business was the furthest thing from Jonathan’s mind when he was attending Baylor. He grew up in San Antonio, and as a college student envisioned himself working in finance for a mutual funds company.

“It was kind of a gut check early on,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be so much work. I’m involved in everything from invoices and employee issues to washing dishes. But I really enjoy it. It’s fun to see the people of Waco come through the door.”

Leah said every day offers new challenges and opportunities. She said she loves it when someone has their birthday celebration at Olive Branch, because she’s honored they’ve chosen it to be a part of their special day.

“It’s great to be a part of people’s lives, whether it’s every day or special occasions,” she said. “It’s very rewarding. I’m a hostess by nature and it means a lot. Maybe it’s because I was raised as a Southern Baptist. Hospitality is important. We were always sharing food or having meals at church events. Being able to connect with people and share stories and friendship is a big deal to me.”

Assorted Olive Branch goodies: decorated sugar cookies, cookies & cream and pineapple cupcakes ($3.50 each) and the newest treat, cakeballs shown in the gift box assortment ($24.95).

She said her goal is to make sure customers “feel comfortable, loved and appreciated. The heart and soul of our business — especially in a small cafe like this — is to let people know we care about what they want.”

When Leah does have free time, she enjoys spending it with friends and — believe it or not, cooking.

“I’m just a worker bee,” she said. “It’s relaxing to me to get in the kitchen and be creative. I love to entertain and throw a party. I actually prefer to throw a party rather than to just attend a party.”

Jonathan said he spends most of his free time following Baylor sports — especially football and basketball.

What would they like customers to know about the Olive Branch?

“Number 1, it’s not girly food,” Leah said. “Sometimes people have a misconception that they won’t get full. It’s a comfortable place where anybody is welcome and everybody is important. We want to provide good food, value, great service and a nice place to relax. Atmosphere is important. We serve a much bigger need than just offering food. This should be a place where people can feel at home — that they’re special. That’s always my goal.”

Newest treat

One of the Olive Branch’s specialties is a dessert item that has gained widespread popularity in a short time: cakeballs. The treats combine cake and frosting and are covered with a variety of chocolates.

Some of Leah’s favorite flavors include chocolate peanut butter, banana split, chocolate covered strawberry, red velvet, pumpkin pie and pina colada.

She also can package the cakeballs so they can be given as gifts or a special treat for someone.

Leah’s blog

Leah posts recipes (including a step by step primer on cakeballs), tips on making the perfect cup of coffee, choosing the best fruit and other observations and stories on her blog, leahstable.com.