Katherine’s Kitchen New To Sandy Hook Center

By Nancy K. Crevier

Katherine’s Kitchen at 102 Church Hill is a dream fulfilled for Katherine Pineau and her husband, Randy, who opened the deli/café February 27.

“Right from the beginning we had the feeling this spot was right and that the community would welcome and support us,” said Mr Pineau.

“Business has been excellent,” agreed Mrs Pineau, who does the bulk of the cooking for the business. “I couldn’t have asked for a better soft opening. We already have a regular clientele. I worry when one doesn’t show up,” she said.

The business is primarily Katherine’s vision. “I had some very early experience in the food business,” she said, and after a stint in banking and insurance, as well as time off to be a stay-at-home mom, she realized that what she loved best was the food industry. “I missed the food business,” said Mrs Pineau, who may look familiar to those who have frequented Creative Cuisine, the General Store, or the Misty Vale Deli, where she has worked in recent years.

The walls in Katherine’s Kitchen are painted burgundy and taupe, with oak-stained wainscoting, wrapping the interior perimeter of the 1,200 square feet that make up the deli/café. A brass reproduction pressed-tin ceiling adds a warm glow above the deli-line workspace and over the main dining area. One wall is nearly taken up by the 18-foot walk-in drink cooler that Mrs Pineau said gives her the flexibility to provide many choices to her customers. In the center of the room, the Pineaus redesigned an existing coffee bar. The 8- by 5-foot granite-topped bar now offers hot coffee, cappuccino, cocoa, and tea, and plenty of elbow room for the cups and condiments.

The menu served six days a week encompasses a large selection of breakfast items; pastries and bagels from Port Chester, N.Y.; hot and cold sandwiches and grinders prepared with Boar’s Head cold cuts and cheeses; soups; salads; and side dishes.

“Our bestselling breakfast item is definitely the classic bacon, egg, and cheese on a hard roll,” Mrs Pineau said, but the featured Breakfast-on-a-Bun is an up-and-coming contender. Breakfast-on-a-Bun provides the hungry customer with scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, home fires, and a choice of ham, bacon, or sausage patty loaded onto a hard roll.

More than 30 cold and hot sandwich selections are available, including daily specials. “The Bull’s Eye has been a big seller,” said Mrs Pineau of one of her specialty sandwiches. It is slices of roast beef, cheddar cheese, pickles, onions, and horseradish on rye bread. The Great Steak is a popular hot sandwich, too, she said, made of strips of top-round steak, grilled onions and peppers, and cheddar cheese on a grinder roll, all topped with steak sauce. Her own personal favorite is a hot ham sandwich of cappicola and mozzarella called the Hap’ Cappy. “It has a lot of good flavor,” said Mrs Pineau.

The Smokey Southern is Mr Pineau’s top pick in the sandwich department. “It’s a chicken cutlet with honey barbeque sauce, bacon, and pepper jack cheese,” he said. “It’s pretty much the family favorite.”

Customers are welcome to tailor a sandwich to their own liking, so long as she has the ingredients on hand, said Mrs Pineau. “Special requests are fine.”

Salads such as the Ceasar and the Mediterranean make up lighter fare, and made-on-premises soups are available each day, as well.

The Pineaus said that they are appreciative of the support that their three sons, Ryan, 17, Connor, 13, and Cory, 10, offer them, pitching in to help and understanding that the long hours are part of the package of owning a restaurant. The Pineaus are also particularly appreciative of their other help.

 “Being the employer and the owner of a business has been a whole different experience for me,” said Mrs Pineau. “Having reliable, good people working with us has been unbelievably helpful.”

The Grand Opening for Katherine’s Kitchen is scheduled for April 27 and the Pineaus invite the public to celebrate with them that day.

“We’ve worked together to make this happen,” said Mr Pineau. “It’s exciting to see this realized.”

Katherine’s Kitchen, 102 Church Hill Road, is open from 6 am to 6 pm, Monday through Friday; and 6 am to 3 pm, Saturday. Special order breakfast and sandwich trays and deli platters can be ordered for takeout, as can any of the menu items, by calling 270-8828 or faxing an order to 270-8829. Daily specials and the menu can be viewed at katherineskitchen.com.