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Tampa native cooks up a career in cafe, catering

Tribune photo by JOSE PATINO GIRONA

Tampa native and Wharton high graduate Justin Herce opened Just in Thyme Cafe & Catering in December to satisfy his love for cooking. Herce, 27, learned to cook from his family.

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By JOSE PATINO GIRONA

jpatino@tampatrib.com

Published: June 24, 2009

TAMPA - When many people are reaching for their snooze button, Justin Herce is checking out fresh produce at a wholesale market on Hillsborough Avenue.

The Tampa native and 2000 graduate of Wharton High School is beginning his 12- to 14-hour day as owner of Just in Thyme Cafe & Cafeteria, 2140 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., which he opened in December.

Herce had tired of working behind a desk, and he always had a passion for cooking. As a child he helped prepare food for family gatherings. As a teenager he cooked dinner for his parents.

While attending Florida State University he cooked for friends. When he returned to Tampa, he worked as a paralegal by day and cooked for friends three times a week. His buddies often went fishing, and Herce prepared their fresh catch.

"I just love preparing the food and serving it up," said Herce, who moved in with his parents at the Riverside Heights home to get the business started.

His cafe and catering menus bring together old Tampa with the influences of Spain, Italy, Cuba and Key West.

The cafe, which seats 10, serves breaded steak, Milanesa steak and grilled chicken sandwiches. It offers salads, empanadas, ham croquettes, conch fritters and a Key West conch chowder soup.

He changes the specials each week. On a recent week they included chicken Parmesan, turkey meatloaf and shrimp poboy.

The catering menu is more extensive and selections include stuffed shells, guava pork, Roma chicken and filete salteado, which combines beef tenderloin, chorizo, ham, onions, green pepper, diced potatoes, mushrooms, red wine and peas.

Herce said the recipes come from experimenting with ingredients to determine what brings out the best taste.

He grows herbs - parsley, oregano, basil and thyme - and green and red peppers. He also has planted a Key lime tree in his parents' yard. He uses Key lime for seafood dishes, he said. He uses honey in many meals as a sweetener.

Herce said he still is learning the business end of owning a restaurant. But he loves working on his own.

"Getting up in the morning is a lot easier when you're working for yourself and doing something you love," Herce said.

For new entrepreneurs who want to venture into the restaurant business, Herce said, they have to have a passion for the industry and people.

"I'm married to this place," Herce said. "This is where I'm at 12 to 14 hours a day."

HAVE A BITE

WHAT: Just in Thyme Cafe & Catering

WHERE: 2140 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

HOURS: Cafe 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday; Catering available seven days a week, including holidays.

CONTACT: (813) 878-0000 or e-mail at jtcafe@live.com

Reporter Jose Patino Girona can be reached at (813) 259-7659.

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