A Family Affair: Dorn’s Cafe
Story by Hana-Lee Sedgwick
Photography by Kelley Williams
After falling in love with Morro Bay while visiting from New York, a young attorney took a leap of faith when in 1942 he purchased a waterfront building to open a restaurant in and moved his family to California. Harry Amsel “knew nothing about the restaurant business… he couldn’t even fry an egg,” explains his daughter Nancy Dorn. Yet Harry transformed the commercial structure from a real estate office and dive bar into the Breakers Café. Leading with his outgoing personality and newfound passion for the area, Harry developed relationships with local fishermen and sourced recipes from the original dive bar for his eatery. Soon, it was a popular gathering place for the community.
Dorn’s The Original Breakers Cafe, as it is now known, has for 80 years remained a fixture in Morro Bay. The family-owned restaurant has built a reputation for its friendly service and fresh, local food, and the third generation continues that tradition today. While the restaurant has undergone a few changes throughout its longstanding history, the family has stayed true to its roots to ensure this dining establishment continues to be an inviting place for repeat guests to enjoy a meal with a view.
“Everyone knew my father,” says Nancy. “[Harry] was always dressed in a coat and tie, which looked out of place in this small village full of fishermen and cowboys. But people loved him and he was quite famous in the area. And because the community had taken him under his wing early on, he was always looking to pay it back. I remember on busy days when the restaurant was full, he didn’t want to turn anyone away so he would serve people in their cars.” That type of welcoming service became synonymous with Breakers Café, which quickly gained a loyal following equally for its friendly environment and its fresh, locally caught seafood.
In 1966, a young Cal Poly student named Dan Dorn took a job at Breakers Café, where he met and fell in love with Nancy, who was studying at Santa Clara University. The two eventually married and later purchased the restaurant from her father when he was looking to retire. “I started ‘working’ in the restaurant when I was two, folding napkins,” recalls Nancy. “My whole family has been part of the restaurant in some capacity. It’s where we celebrated all of our special occasions. It’s truly our family hub, so we knew it was right to keep the tradition going.”
After changing the name to Dorn’s The Original Breakers Café, Dan and Nancy carried on her father’s legacy of providing the warm service and delicious food that patrons had come to expect, while also making a few changes to enhance the overall guest experience. The couple remodeled the building in 1989 to allow for more seating, changing the layout from a café to a more traditional all-day restaurant. A few years later, in 1994, they added an outdoor patio to take advantage of the panoramic views of the bay and majestic Morro Rock. In addition to acquiring a liquor license, the Dorns have also updated the menu throughout the years, taking special care not to stray too far from what made Breakers so special; that includes using the exact same recipe for the pancakes and chowder since the restaurant’s inception.
Since 1998, Dan and Nancy have entrusted their son, Chris Dorn, with the managerial responsibilities of the restaurant. Chris represents the third generation of the family business. In addition to managing Dorn’s, Chris also owns and operates Duckie’s Chowder House in Cayucos and Mersea’s in Avila Beach. Each eatery is influenced by Chris’ childhood growing up in the family restaurant and an appreciation for the bounty of the California Coast, a concept first introduced by Harry.
Nancy explains, “My father truly loved this region and was always supporting the community through our menu, featuring produce from local farms as well as locally caught fish, and we’ve continued that tradition of supporting local, including local vineyards. We also only serve fresh fish, never frozen, and all of our sauces, dressings and desserts are made from scratch daily.”
A dedication to serving fresh, local food has been at the core of the restaurant since its early days and it continues to be a driving force. “Our food is fresh and local — simple yet always high quality,” adds Chris. “We strive to keep the menu current and of the highest quality without changing it too much, because we want to keep the tradition of Breakers Café alive and stay true to what made it so special in the first place.”
The family has come a long way since its patriarch learned to fry an egg, but the original heart and tradition of the restaurant remain consistent. As a result, today multiple generations aren’t just represented in the owner-operators but in the customers, too.
