MONROE — Blessings Cafe just might be the answer to the prayers of lunchgoers still mourning the closing of Janet’s Café in downtown Monroe.

The restaurant will open Monday in space vacated by Janet’s on Sept. 22. Blessings will serve sandwiches, soup and salads on its lunch menu. Co-owners Lynn and Rick Blessing also promise an elaborate breakfast menu not previously offered at Janet’s Café, which closed Sept. 22.

“If you’re opening up at 8 a.m., you’ve already missed the boat,” Lynn Blessing said, adding that her restaurant will open at 6 a.m. to attract people who work in downtown.

The Blessings are no strangers to the restaurant business. They’ve owned PJ’s Place in Matthews and Cafe de Cadillac in Pineville for several years. The couple said they have always wanted to own a restaurant in downtown Monroe but had never had an opportunity.

Lynn Blessing said they plan to bring only the best recipes from their existing restaurants to Blessings Cafe.

“My husband is shooting for the moon,” she said. “He thinks that once people try it, it’s going to all fall into place and exceed our expectations.”

To give patrons a taste of what they have to offer, the Blessings will run a breakfast special during October.

For $2.99, customers can get two eggs, their choice of grits, hash browns or home fries, their choice of toast or a biscuit, and bacon and a sausage.

Unlike Janet’s Café, Blessings will not serve alcohol. Lynn Blessing said they wanted to maintain a family atmosphere and that they will likely just use the bar for extra dining space.

Tim Ratliff, owner of Oasis Restaurant, said he was surprised at how quickly another business filled the vacancy.

“It was faster than normal but it’s good to see something going in there so there’s not another empty store in downtown,” he said.

Lynn Blessing said the couple was able to open so quickly because they bought the furniture from Janet’s Café.

“So it was more just cleaning things up and bringing our own stuff in,” she said.

Rick Blessing said that although the couple hasn’t had much time to publicize the opening, he’s relying on his name.

“I really believe that’s going to help in getting people to come,” he said.

Sooner or later people will find, he said, that “no meal is complete without a blessing.”