The Fresco Café on State Street in Santa Barbara celebrated its 16th anniversary last Friday, but owners Mark and Jill Brouillard say they wouldn’t have made it past their third year without the help of one man.

“The first three years in business we were lucky we opened the doors every day; it was agony,” Jill Brouillard said.

The Brouillard family moved to Santa Barbara after operating a catering business and restaurant in Rhode Island in 1988. Despite their expectations of putting the restaurant business behind them, the Brouillards purchased and transformed the Italian deli into an eclectic café seven years later.

But the business was undercapitalized, like many others, and its style didn’t yet resonate with customers, Jill Brouillard said. The prohibitive cost of business at 3987 State St. and volatile food prices didn’t help.

“I got so low, I didn’t think I could go another moment,” she said.

But Ben Lincoln, a loyal customer who Brouillard met while working as the assistant food director at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, helped when no one else would.

“I had a mentor, a guardian angel who loaned me the money at a low interest rate and saved the business,” she said. “He said, ‘You are not quitting. You have a good product. Just keep going.’”

Apparently, many people agree with Lincoln. A customer eating a blackened halibut sandwich said there is no other place she can find the variety and quality of food for the price.

Fresco Café serves breakfast, customizable sandwiches, pizza, burgers, wraps, salads, soups, pizza, meats and fish.

“The key to Fresco is the variety,” Brouillard said. “I think people see us as a value-driven menu using as good of ingredients as we can put in. A lot of people use locally sourced as tag line, but it’s really all about being fresh and honest about what we can deliver. We’re not perfect and they know it.”

Brouillard tells her staff not to be perfect, just to try their best because the customers can discern the difference.

“I didn’t think I would be here today after 16 years cooking here,” said head chef Mario Salgado, who started as a dishwasher. “We’re like a family.”

Customers who come in every week are family, Brouillard said, adding that it blows her mind that a pregnant couple tried the Fresco Café when it opened and now their kids are in college.

“It’s their neighborhood joint. They come in and know everybody, and they feel a part of our growth and success,” she said. “We would never want to take for granted.”

The café was originally 1,100 square feet with limited indoor and outdoor seating. It has grown to 3,200 square feet with an indoor seating capacity of 80 and outdoor capacity of 75. It features imported Italian material and rotating local art to create a Mediterranean ambiance.

Brouillard said she thanks one loyal customer for her success. Although Lincoln has since died, she still saves a seat for him.

“He remained a great friend even after that business arrangement was long closed. He was a terrific influence and mentor on our lives,” Brouillard said. “We’re eternally grateful. He will always remain a part of Fresco.”

— Noozhawk business writer Alex Kacik can be reached at akacik@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Become a fan of Noozhawk on Facebook.