Kid-friendly Crayola Cafe draws to a close at Crown Center Shops after 20 years

After more than two decades in the Crown Center Shops, Crayola Cafe has closed.

Crayola Cafe was a tribute to Hallmark’s Crayola brand, boasting a bright-colored decor and “blank canvass” place mats alongside cans of new crayons.

It opened on the second level by the atrium in November 1999. The menu was created by Michael Smith and Debbie Gold, James Beard Award winners who were at the time executive chefs at The American Restaurant in Crown Center. Items included house-made chicken noodle soup, macaroni and cheese with three cheeses, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (with peanut butter ground fresh in the restaurant and crustless bread), and drinks in crayon-shaped dispensers.

Adults could enjoy such items as Asian spiced pork, lemon/basil chicken, mustard-charred salmon and a double-decker peanut butter club. It also had a full bar.

“It was a great concept for us for many years,” said Anne Deuschle, spokeswoman for Crown Center at 2450 Grand Blvd. “But since then we have opened Spin Pizza, Unforked. Fritz’s (Railroad Restaurant) has expanded. So we are still meeting the family-friendly casual dining restaurant needs of our customers. We have some ideas for the space, but we are still developing plans.”

In other Crown Center news: Burnt End BBQ plans an early February opening in the former Milano Italian Restaurant space, and Starbucks is scheduled to open there in early April.