“You have to get the cinnamon rolls.”
That’s what my friend and co-worker said when I told him I was headed to Reedville to Fawn’s, A Delectables Cafe for a Rivah Fare story.
The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the group in our weekly staff meeting. In fact, craving the legendary cinnamon rolls, the group scheduled the next weekly meeting at the small breakfast and lunch eatery about 40 minutes from our office. They all proclaimed the rolls would make the drive worthwhile. And they were right.
Fawn Jett Deihl, who grew up not far from where she now has her cafe, opened Fawn’s Memorial Day weekend two years ago. As she approaches her second anniversary, she says she’s been overwhelmed at the community support and faithful clientele. She also credits her lifelong friend Karen Newsome for working by her side. “If it wasn’t for her, this place wouldn’t survive.”
The cafe is not just surviving, but as evidenced by the dine-in and to-go crowd on a rainy Monday morning in May, it’s thriving. That credit goes to Fawn’s family recipes and her homemade, baked-with-love fresh pastries, biscuits and cookies.
“I used to bake with my grandmother when I was little. I remember sitting on her counter and helping her mix cakes,” said Fawn. “I wanted this place to feel like my grandmother’s kitchen, so I wanted an open kitchen.” She said there are a few other nods to family in the cafe, like the chandelier lights hanging above the bakery counter. They’re similar to ones at her grandmother’s house. There’s also a framed picture of her grandmother and her husband’s grandmother.
While Fawn was a stay-at-home mom with young boys she started baking cakes for parties and small functions. She then moved to Florida, where she worked at breakfast/lunch places and “that’s where I learned a lot about this business.” When she returned to Reedville, her husband John Mark Deihl was looking at a small cinderblock building as a rental property just off Main Street in Reedville. When Fawn saw it, she said “I want it. I told him what I wanted to do. He probably thought I was crazy. I just turned 50 so maybe this was some kind of midlife crisis. But this is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
The small restaurant—which seats about 20—is sandwiched between a gift shop and post office just as you enter the village of Reedville. If you didn’t know it was there, or weren’t specifically looking for it, you’d miss it. And that would be a shame.
The breakfast meeting was my first visit to Fawn’s so I asked for the chef’s suggestions. She recommended one of her breakfast biscuits and of course, the cinnamon roll. There were only a few left in the bakery case and we snatched them all up.
The star of the sausage, egg and cheese biscuit was the homemade biscuit, dense but yet flaky and moist. My co-worker chose a breakfast croissant. Fawn apologized for not making the croissants. No worries. They are baked fresh daily and are also flaky, buttery and delicious.
The cinnamon roll—large enough for two or more to split—is served warm with an ooey, gooey cream cheese icing dripping down the sides. The secret to the icing, said Fawn, “is butter, lots of butter.” Pair that roll with a heaping cup—literally spilling over the edge—of latte or one of her speciality coffees and that’s breakfast in itself.
I was sorry to hear her popular crab quiche wasn’t available that day. It’s a customer favorite she usually keeps in stock when crabs are in season.
In fact, Fawn cooks with locally sourced products whenever possible, buying crab for her quiches and crab melts from local watermen, bacon and sausage from Northern Neck Meat Processing in Miskimon and fresh fruits or vegetables from area growers.
The availability of product is one reason her menu changes frequently, adding seasonal items like strawberry shortcakes this month. But she also likes to keep the menu “simple,” she said, having her staple of breakfast items and four or five mainstays on the lunch menu like her chicken salad, Italian panini, reuben and her sweet and savory turkey croissant, which I ordered to go.
As billed, it was both sweet and savory. The Granny Smith apples added a crunch and tartness, while a drizzle of honey over the bacon and piled high turkey was just enough sweet to also counter a tiny zing from the pepper jack cheese. It was a perfect combination.
As a self proclaimed chicken salad connoisseur, I can’t wait to return and sample her homemade chicken salad, a combination of both white and dark meat with mayonnaise and white raisins. It too is a family recipe.
And of course, no lunch is complete without one of her made-from-scratch, giant cookies with names like All the Chocolates, S’more and Fluffernutter. I got a S’more—a blend of cookie dough, a layer of graham cracker and filled with marshmallow and creamy chocolate. It was good but I have to admit the crunchy Heath cookie was my favorite. Try it warm with a glass of milk.
In fact, try them all. I plan to when I return.
Olivia Newsome (left) and Fawn Deihl cook between waiting on customers.
Fawn’s, A Delectables Cafe
284 Morris Avenue, Reedville, VA
804-220-2244
Open Mondays and Thursdays, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Fridays, 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
Customer favorites
Cinnamon rolls
Blueberry muffins
Crab quiche
Chicken salad
Sweet and savory turkey
Croissant
