The saying โYou donโt know what you have until itโs goneโ could certainly apply to fans of Cafรฉ Panache.
Closed in May because of staffing issues, the European-style restaurant at 931 Russell Drive, North Cornwall Township, reopened June 20.
In the interim, โyou could not believe the messagesโ she was getting from cafรฉ patrons, owner Denise Bollard told LebTown. โIt was kind of endearing.โ
She originally planned to rent the space out to Gabbyโs Italian Bistro, but that fell through because township zoning didnโt allow a standalone restaurant there.
Cafรฉ Panache does light fare โ breakfast and lunch.
Thomas J. Long Sr., North Cornwall Township manager, said in an email to LebTown that the zoning was changed in 2015 to allow permitted uses, such as office complexes and health centers in the townshipโs Office & Institutional District, to have a small coffee shop/cafe within their facility for their employees and patrons.
Cafรฉ Panache is next door to Bollardโs real estate office, Re/Max Cornerstone, which Bollard also owns.
โIt was never permitted to be a stand-alone food establishment,โ Long said, which Gabbyโs would have been.
After the bistro rental was nixed, everything just kind of worked out, Bollard said.
She decided to bring back her eatery, encouraged by all the support from customers who missed Cafรฉ Panache.
Bollard announced the reopening on Facebook. โYay! I love Panache!โ wrote one poster. โSeriously? Awesome news!โ said another.
Business picked up pretty quickly, building over the course of the first week, Bollard said. โIt was so nice to see everyone.โ
With familiar faces coming back, โitโs like a little reunion.โ
The restaurant is so busy now, Bollard said, she is helping out in the kitchen.
The new chef is Angel Romero, who has a lot of experience, she said. โHeโs good, his food is good, heโs passionate about what heโs doing.โ
And heโs a fast learner, Bollard said. โWeโre happy to have him.โ
Cafรฉ Panacheโs menu will remain, including a lunch special, a soup du jour and a pizza du jour every week.
The menu features a variety of breakfast selections, from muffins and croissants to Baked Stuffed French Toast and Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and gruyere topped with bechamel).
Lunch fare includes brick oven pizzas (Smokinโ Margherita, Mushroom Medley, Dancing Goat, etc.), sandwiches (French Roti, for example, a version of French dip) salads, soups and quiches. Beverage-wise, a variety of coffees and specialty teas are available, along with Boylanโs soda, made with pure sugar cane.
In October 2021, LebTown published a review of the establishment by the Lebanon Valley Food Critics.
โOur take: Cafรฉ Panache offers a simple and elegant breakfast menu and coffee drinks,โ it concluded. โThey take pride in the presentation of the dishes. The warm, inviting interior design is a plus for the diners. The food itself is fresh and well crafted.โ
Bollard described her eatery, which first opened in October 2015, as โsort of European with a French flair.โ
Everything is made in house, she said. โNothing is canned or frozen. We try to buy locally producedโ items and use ones that are in season.
Bollard said Cafรฉ Panache is a โsmall, quaintโ enterprise, with a handful of employees.
Itโs open 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday.
For lunch, thereโs not like anything it in Lebanon, she said. And the breakfast crowd can get very busy on a Saturday, too.
โItโs a nice little spot,” said Bollard.
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