New parents Alexis Liu, a co-owner of Beacon Coffee and Pantry in North Beach, and Scott Clark, a former chef at San Francisco fine dining spots like Benu and Saison, are taking an alternate approach to their lives and careers with Dad's Luncheonette, an unpretentious eatery in an old train caboose beside Highway 1. After months of dreaming, painting, and tinkering with the menu, they're finally calling "all aboard" at Dad's this Thursday, although the caboose won't be leaving its permanent station in Half Moon Bay.

"We didn't find the caboose, the caboose found us!" Liu explains to SFist, "It's been parked on the side of Highway 1 for decades, so we've seen it many times driving up and down the coast." That roadside sight and the ticket out of stressful high-end dining it represented became more enticing after the birth of the couple's daughter, Frost, a year ago.

"It's hard to go to work 16 hours a day and feel accomplished and full," Clark, who was previously Saison's chef de cuisine told the Half Moon Bay Review. "When we had Frost, there was a disconnect between life and work. The two should be in harmony for the family unit to function."

The new setting certainly does promise to be harmonious. "Half Moon Bay and the surrounding area is an amazing convergence of the beach and the country," Liu tells SFist. "There really aren't too many communities like it. It's a magical place." Eventually, Liu hopes to expand her Beacon operation to Dad's with its own coffee counter. For now, Four Barrel is creating a custom blend of Dad's Coffee, which will be in their Cold Brew and Dirty Chai Pie.

Liu and Clark have put the finishing touches on their menu, inspired by the region's coastal farming. "One of the headliners will be the Hamburger Sandwich, which lies somewhere between a hamburger and a patty melt," says Liu. "The beef is aged, organic, grass-fed beef ground in house and the bread is coming from a great family run bakery right down the street. The star of the show is the egg you can get on top — laid by some happy chickens at Ben's Coastside Farms." Vegetarians, needn't worry: There's a chicken fried hen of the woods mushroom burger with your name on it. This is Half Moon Bay, after all... do I even have to say that the mushrooms are local?

Dad's Luncheonette — 225 Cabrilla Highway South (at Kelly Avenue) Half Moon Bay, Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Related: Hippie Vegan Techies Convert Half Moon Bay Farm To Animal Sanctuary

Dad's Luncheonette via Facebook