When she opened her restaurant last June, Sava Lelcaj was shocked the café's 23 seats were rarely filled. It's hard to imagine the same woman who speaks with fervor as she makes menu suggestions to customers - most of whom she knows by name - spent her first few months on State Street depressed and worried about her namesake café.

But Lelcaj struggled with a fact-of-life for State Street eateries - not many students stick around in the spring and summer terms. Even though her restaurant sits only 300 feet north of E. Liberty Street, she's isolated from the heavy foot traffic that stops abruptly at the State Theater. A small, simple banner marks the café, but does little to draw would-be customers from the Liberty-State intersection.

But once September came and brought 40,000 University students with it, Lelcaj said her restaurant came alive.

Although Sava's State Street Café just broke even in March, its owner has made considerable efforts to keep the business afloat. The café serves customers from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, -and Lelcaj is there "100 percent" of the time, she said. This may change, however, with plans to extend dining hours until 4 a.m. on some nights.

"Anything you do, if you do it with passion, you'll do it well and you'll be successful," Lelcaj said.

She describes her current clientele as "really hip and really trendy," which fits with her vision for the café. She achieves her goal of creating a cozy, welcoming atmosphere with soft lighting and warm yellow walls. A support column in the center of the room is covered with the headshots of musical theater students - whom she regards as her most loyal customers.

She spoke affectionately of the more than 30 musical theater seniors who dine in the café daily, but hastened to add that she'll need the next class to start frequenting the restaurant.

By Lelcaj's report, at least four other independent restaurants were opened and subsequently closed where her restaurant now sits. Her space was home to Pita Pit last year. Still, she's optimistic that her restaurant will become an Ann Arbor landmark. To meet her dream of serving paninis and sweet potato fries to the children of her current customers, she'll need to keep pace with constantly-changing Ann Arbor trends.

While she said adapting to new demands will be challenging, the spunky proprietor also said she has the energy to make the necessary adjustments. So far, she has. She doubled her seating capacity when she saw an increased number of people dining in and added meatless dishes when customers requested more vegetarian options. In fact, it's the spinach and artichoke dip she added in November that customers request the most.

She said her first attempt to craft a menu of high-quality, reasonably priced food was successful, and though she's made some additions, nothing has been altered or taken off of her menu.

"I sat down and wrote some of my favorite sandwiches from all over the world," Lelcaj said. "Everybody loves a good sandwich."

With the other four sandwich shops lining State Street, she has some tough competition. But she said her café provides hungry students with "something different." She's obviously found something they want, because despite little advertising effort, she's seen a 75 percent increase in business since last summer.

"We are fresh, healthy and we are homemade," Lelcaj said. "You can really taste that in every dish."

Still, her four nearby competitors - Amer's Delicatessen, Cosi, Potbelly Sandwich Works and Earl of Sandwich - have either been around for along time or have a major chain to back them up.

"Twenty to 30 years ago, Ann Arbor was this little hip town which embraced its independents," Lelcaj said. While Ann Arbor residents still embrace indie culture, she said, big businesses have forced out small, personal establishments like hers.

When business slows at the end of the month as students leave Ann Arbor for the summer, Lelcaj plans to develop an active marketing plan to bring in new customers. Young, active Ann Arbor residents, she said, would be attracted to her promise of good food and friendly service.

Once she's able to personally welcome them to the café and offer them something from the menu, they'll keep coming back.