Avalon Restaurant has settled into its new home on Main Street, right next to Pretzel Bell. Though the location has changed, the family-friendly vibe, inviting atmosphere and commitment to good food remain the same.
“We have a great kid’s menu and lots of kid-friendly seating,” Manager Joanne Bower said.
Customers can still see families and children enjoying themselves as they did at the former spot. Bower explained that Avalon’s move next to Pretzel Bell has sparked a collaboration that enhances menu options for both restaurants.
“I was fortunate enough to keep my Avalon chef and also share a kitchen and ideas with my Pretzel Bell chef so we absolutely all got together and started sharing ideas on our best recipes, practices, SOP’s you name it,” Bower said. “Then we sort of got the best of the best and decided how we could lay this out and essentially share a kitchen on the weekends. So far, it’s been great! We have got some awesome dishes from Pretzel Bell like the Cuban and pretzel Caesar and they were able to get some of ours like our famous avocado toast and our savory egg avocado bacon sandwich.”
On a recent visit, we sampled the new Cuban sandwich and the brioche French toast. Although the kitchen was out of fresh fruit for the French toast topping, both dishes were still a delight. The Cuban included chorizo alongside other pork and came with French fries. The French toast was fluffy, accompanied by scrambled eggs for a protein boost.
Despite the smaller space, the restaurant’s cozier layout encourages friendly interaction between staff and guests.
“I like to think everyone has enjoyed how cozy it is and how friendly and fresh it feels,” Bower said. “I have heard good feedback so far.”
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We also tried a couple of coffee drinks — both arrived before the meal. The cortado and cappuccino were lovely.
“Some of my absolute favorites are the mushroom biscuits and gravy — a vegetarian’s dream come true,” Bower said. “The Avalon hash is another one I can’t say enough good things about, it could be a vegan’s best friend or a meat lover’s favorite option, but either way it’s a hash that is packed full of root vegetables and flavor. We have also done loads of work to our café and coffee program and I am proud to say that we have some of the best lattes and organic teas around.”
Bower noted that downsizing was a necessary decision to stay financially healthy.
“Honestly, we are doing great,” Bower said. “As the economy shifted, our old location slowly became too big and too expensive. We knew we were going to have to downsize to stay alive.”
The menu is primarily the same, though slightly less expensive and with healthier ingredients.
“We actually have been able to carry more organic ingredients than we were doing before, and we were able to lower prices, which is huge,” Bower said.
Multiple Avalon locations across the Metro area offer staple items.
“There are a few items you can find at every location, and that would be our famous egg avocado bacon sandwich on local sourdough, our avocado toast and our signature pastries like our sea salt chocolate chunk cookie, our vegan muffins and our traditional scones,” Bower said.
The restaurant’s mission to do good and uplift the community remains strong.
“We truly believe in our mission,” Bower said. “We believe we should be eating the best quality food and also doing good for our communities. We have been living by that since 1997. We have been giving out the best food we can, and we truly try and help our communities in as many ways as we can. One of my personal favorites is every Valentine’s Day we celebrate ‘Share the Love’ and pick an organization that is local to donate proceeds from the day to. We have also worked with the Ecology Center for many events to help solidify how we feel about our planet, too.”