The husband and wife say they’ve paid off their loans and are making major profits even though food costs hover around 35 percent of sales. The owners estimate the café’s volume is roughly $500,000 a year. And the great thing for the Weitlaufs is every dime earned is theirs.

“I realized after we’d been here about six months that I have never worked as hard for myself as I should have,” Kim says. “I gave the best years of my life to other companies.”

Kim worked in foodservice for Disney and Hyatt Hotels. She met Jea at the Hyatt, where Kim managed the front and he managed the back of house. For a few years, the couple owned a catering company called “Word of Mouth.” Then, a friend of a friend said they should open a café inside the LG&E building.

With a large customer base of college-educated workers, Queue Café’s location would make Subway or Quiznos salivate. But Queue Café had no competition for signing the lease. And today, the married couple work together flawlessly, understanding their customers and managing their cash flow like seasoned restaurant operators.

“[Occasionally] she’ll forget to press a button on a sandwich, and I’ll notice it. I say ‘Kimmie, [this customer] usually doesn’t want that spread on his sandwich,’” says Jea, who nudges his wife. In turn, “Kimmie” girlishly smiles and blushes.

Don’t let Kim’s beauty queen pearly whites and sweet personality fool you. She’s all business—in a nice way. Recently, she had a problem with the chips, and the distributor was not being responsive to her requests.

“I went straight to the [chip] company,” and the problem is in the process of being resolved. How many independent operators have the nerve to track down an executive from a publicly traded chip company?

There are some challenges the couple just can’t escape, though. Like all restaurateurs right now, the Weitlaufs feel high energy costs and expensive plastics, but they won’t skimp on food or cut back on labor. For the Weitlaufs, the goal is to create a great guest experience, and cutting costs compromises that.

“[Our customers] have become our friends,” Kim says. “They’re dining with us—some of them—two to five days week. We’re not looking to get rich off these people. We feel like we can make a good living if we give them what they want.”

And that’s why they keep coming back.