Owner Bio
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Janet Bleck and her husband Martin along with son Kelsey moved to Oregon in 2008 from tropical Miami, Florida to fulfill their dream of living in the most beautiful state in the nation and participate in its vibrant and burgeoning food and wine scene. Martin, a chef, and Janet, a caterer, come from the world of high-end, off-premise, full-service event planning. Janet founded Creative Tastes Catering in 1984 and grew it to be one of the largest event catering companies in the Miami area. In 1991 a young man named Martin applied for a prep cook job, and the rest is history! Garden Café Catering was founded in 2004 to provide all the food service needs at an 83-acre tropical garden venue named Fairchild Tropical Garden, including an award-winning Café, a seasonal restaurant, catering for festivals, groups and events, and more.
In February of 2009 they purchased the Underground Coffeehouse in the Safeway shopping center and changed the name to Underground Café & Coffeehouse (it is no longer just about coffee!) On the menu are fabulous breakfasts and lunches, seasonal daily specials, the best homemade soups in the city, a wide variety of homemade baked goods, local beer and wine, and familiar service, all in a very warm and comfortable setting.
Although a fine dining restaurant was really not in the plans, when Janet and Martin saw the location of Subterra they saw potential in opening an affordable white tablecloth restaurant in this area. Subterra – A Wine Cellar Restaurant, was conceived, and offers dinner Wednesday through Saturday along with brunch on Sundays from 9 to 2. Additionally the wine bar offers small plates hors d’oeuvres and affordable wines by the glass. Subterra is located at Villa Road and 99W, in a location that interestingly enough was the original location of the Underground Coffeehouse when it opened over 12 years ago!