If you’ve gone for a stroll in downtown Goshen around 10:30 a.m. sometime this fall, you may have noticed a newly opened restaurant with several patrons waiting outside. This is Daycap, a family-friendly, sit-down business serving breakfast and lunch food as well as cocktails. And it’s popular enough to have a 30-plus minute wait time at peak hours.

Daycap opened on Aug. 28 of this year and is the second venue opened by Jami and Ryan Hawkins, a couple who have owned and operated the next-door Common Spirits cocktail bar since 2015. This weekend, I had the opportunity to spend a Sunday morning having brunch at the new restaurant.

The dining area of Daycap consists of one room, roughly as big as Java Junction. The interior has a modern style with some mild idiosyncrasies. The salt and pepper shakers are novelty trinkets, different at each table — one table features dolphin-shaped shakers. A large rug adorns one of the walls. Some of the quirks of the design are likely due to its recent inception, but some seem intentional. There are less than a dozen tables, and this readily bottlenecks attendance.

The restaurant’s acoustics are somewhat underdeveloped. A speaker or two plays hits from the ‘70s and ‘80s, which is often mostly drowned out by conversations at other tables. The interior design does not mitigate this noise, although there are quieter regions of the restaurant. 

The menu at Daycap is fairly short, with typical breakfast fare taking the forefront. There are vegetarian and vegan options available, mostly via meat substitutes, and a kids menu to keep things family-friendly. I went out of my comfort zone to order biscuits and gravy with a fried egg and a spicy chicken sandwich with a vegan chicken substitute. I also tried the pancakes, which were ordered by my dining companion, Phil. The food was plentiful in quality and quantity, deserving of the 4.5 and 5-star ratings Daycap currently possesses on Yelp and Google reviews, respectively. However, the pricing is a little high for regular attendance on a typical college student budget.

Overall, Daycap is a solid destination if you find yourself craving quality breakfast food in downtown Goshen, or perhaps a brunch date (so long as you plan around the wait time and you’re OK with the loud atmosphere). The restaurant is open from 10:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday and Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and closed Tuesday and Wednesday, so there are plenty of off-peak hours throughout the week for a shorter wait and a quieter meal.

Daycap is located at 109 East Lincoln Avenue in downtown Goshen. They can be found online at itsdaycap.com