NEWPORT NEWS-There’s a new hotspot in town for those craving a delectable dessert sure to tantalize the tastebuds. The Cobbler Cafe opened its doors to the public on Friday, November 4. The new business is located at 10153 Jefferson Ave., Suite C, in the Francisco Village Shopping Center of Midtown Newport News, adjacent to Lily’s Furniture & Mattress.
The dessert shop offers a variety of cobblers, including peach, apple, blackberry, cherry, and sweet potato, along with toppings such as pecan praline, walnut, mango, and strawberry. The Cobbler Café also serves homemade banana pudding and cinnamon rolls. The cafe’s signature dessert is a cinnamon roll stuffed with cobbler. Drink choices include cold beverages like coffee, tea, water, and sodas.
The cafe’s owner, Patricia Bland, said she had been entertaining the idea of opening her own dessert shop for quite some time. Like generations before her, Bland’s mother introduced her to baking when she was a child.
“While I do tend to stick to recipes, I also make some desserts by taste and by eye, just like my mother did,” said Bland.
The entrepreneur said she chose to focus on cobbler to offer locals an untapped option.
“The idea came to me while my husband and I were driving around trying to search for a dessert shop,” said Bland. “While Hilton Village has cupcake and cake shops, we wanted to offer something that was a little bit different in order to give the community some options.”
Situated near the well-traveled intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Main Street, Bland said she’s confident she chose the right locale for her first storefront.
“The location we’re in used to be a very prominent area, and though it kind of went downhill many years ago, things are changing with more business owners opening up shops and bringing life back into the area,” she said.
Bland has worked in configuration management at the Newport News Shipyard for the past 20 years. Though she’s not planning on retiring from her day job anytime soon, she hopes to pour all of her efforts into the shop down the road when the timing is right. Until then, she’ll be methodically planning her future—and her descendants’.
“Female Black-owned businesses are few and far between, but, like mine, they are continuing to increase,” said Bland. “In addition to giving back to the community I work within, it is very important to me that I leave a legacy for my daughter and granddaughter to show them that women of color are able to achieve just as much as anyone else in America. It’s very important to me that I show them, as well as other youth in the community, that they can become successful business owners.”
Bland said her new business has been well-received by the public since opening nearly two months ago.
“I’m really happy and pleased with the reception we’ve received from our clientele to date,” said Bland. “We’ve had a lot of people giving us positive feedback and praising the cafe through word of mouth. We look forward to meeting new faces and welcome new visitors to come try us out.”
Closed on Mondays, normal hours of operation for The Cobbler Cafe are 11am to 7pm Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 6pm on Sunday. For more information, call 757-586-5585, or visit the cafe’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
