What's the best way to start a breakfast cafe in the recession?

If I were you, I would start observing the competition. In your case, the competition might not be other breakfast cafes, it might be McDonald's or Denny's or any restaurant that also serves breakfast. Make sure you can offer something that the current establishments aren't offering.

Second, you should talk to and network with restaurant owners with whom you would not be directly competing. Find out how to go about getting a loan. Get a better sense of how much money it's going to take to get started. Ask them how they picked the location for their restaurant. If you are not competing with them, most business owners will be more than happy to talk about their business--especially if they are passionate about it.

Then I would put together a business plan. What kind of equipment will you need? What kind of food will you be serving? What makes you unique? What kind of customers do you want to attract?

There are countless business plan guides, but you would do well to borrow the templates from the Small Business Administration (http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/plan/writeabusinessplan/index.html). Also, check out Entrepreneur's Business Plan section: http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan

Best of luck!