By Debbie Adams
The Vinton Café Kitchen & Bakery joined the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce and the
Town of Vinton for an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Dec. 2. The new restaurant/bakery
opened at 126 East Lee Avenue, in the former Our Daily Bread location, on Nov. 5.
Vinton Mayor Brad Grose welcomed the Vinton Café, saying he is always glad to see small
businesses come to town.
business community. Next to him (from left) are owner Keriann Campbell, her husband Todd,
their son Jacob, property owner Chris Duncan, and Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce
Executive Director Angie Chewning. (photos by Debbie Adams)
ribbon-cutting ceremony on December 2.
Keriann Campbell owns the new restaurant. She is leasing the property from Chris Duncan, who
owns both Vinton and Brambleton Computer and several other properties.
Campbell was previously the general manager for three Our Daily Bread locations on
Brambleton and Jefferson Street, and in Vinton. She currently has 10 employees, including two
chefs, Chef Shami and Chef Nacho, two baristas, and several servers. Her husband, Todd, also
assists with the business— and sometimes her 11-year-old son. Campbell says family is the most
important part of her life.
Vinton Café is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. It serves breakfast all day along
with soups, sandwiches, and entrees for lunch.
The café will have extended hours with a special menu on Dec. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. to celebrate
the Vinton Christmas Parade.
Campbell says she decided to keep the restaurant open on Sundays and Mondays since so many
eateries close on those days. Her schedule allows for family time and activities and eliminates
the need for an alcohol license required for restaurants open in the evening.
She aims for breakfast to be “classic southern with a twist.” She says so far customer breakfast
favorites have been avocado toast, Green Goat Toast, and Strawberry Banana Nutella crepes.
The Vinton Café is one of the few restaurants in the area serving Hollandaise sauce with an assortment of
Eggs Benedict choices. The cafe serves a variety of French toast, pancakes, and omelets.
Lunch includes a terrific southern potato soup (with bacon), egg salad, pimento cheese, and
chicken salad sandwiches, hot sandwiches, salads, and deli sides. There’s a kids’ menu with the
standards.
The current café drink menu offers many holiday flavors: Peppermint Mocha Latte, Cinnamon
Roll Latte, Santa’s Cookie Dough Latte, Vinton Vanilla Fog Latte, and several hot chocolate
flavors.
Campbell defines her menu as “southern comfort American food.” She has varied the menu from
Our Daily Bread to both suit Vinton’s tastes and stand out from the other downtown restaurants
in Vinton. “We are here to serve people what they want to eat. We value community over
competition with other establishments.”
She chose the name “Vinton Café” to emphasize the community feel of the restaurant. She added
“Kitchen & Bakery” because they offer freshly baked breads and meals. Her emphasis is on
fresh, made-from-scratch dishes. They bake their own scones, biscuits, and cookies, but still
purchase breads from the Blacksburg Our Daily Bread bakery.
She says she has experienced a great deal of support from the Vinton community already and
hopes to become an integral part of the town. Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director Angie Chewning facilitated initial discussions on the location by putting Campbell in
touch with Julie Mayer who owned the building. Mayer was in the process of selling to Duncan.
In fact, Campbell signed the lease on the property the day Duncan closed on it. She says he has
been tremendously supportive.
Campbell has been involved in the restaurant business for some 15 years, along with time spent
working in the hospitality industry.
She is originally from Northern Virginia but has quickly claimed Vinton as her own. She met her
husband Todd (a Northside graduate) in Vinton.
The café will also incorporate additional retail options such as locally made and sourced artisan
gifts, including honey, coffee, and soap products— mainly consumable items, not knick-knacks.
They also cater.
“We are thrilled to open the Vinton Café to our friends and neighbors in Vinton. Our goal is to
provide a comfortable, community-oriented space where you can connect with friends and
family, enjoy a great meal and relax with a cozy beverage and dessert,” Campbell said.
Jill Loope, Special Projects assistant to the Vinton town manager, said, “It’s exciting to see an
entrepreneur take swift action to establish a new business with such enthusiasm. Keriann brings
passion and energy to the Vinton Café, and we are pleased to show community support for her
new business venture, which promises to be a great fit for the community.”
For more information, visit the Vinton Café Facebook page.
