Earlier this month, Vicki Savrin posted a notice near the front door and closed the blinds to Café Rivkah, the bakery and cafe she started in the Pavilions at East Lake Shopping Center in 2023.
She has struggled almost since opening to find qualified and reliable labor, weathered a major price increase for eggs and changed up her menu many times to respond to customer tastes.
But two and a half years in, the professional baker, who got the idea for a neighborhood cafe from customers at the Marietta Farmers Market, was wondering if it was worth it to stay open.
“I do love the work, there’s no question about it,” Savrin said near closings hours on Sunday, at the end of the first weekend since coming back to open during limited hours and with a slimmed-down menu.
For a couple of weeks this month, Savrin thought about closing altogether. But on Friday, Café Rivkah reopened, and is now serving from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
The family meals for takeout that she had prepared are on hold, and the cafe menu has been reduced, not only because of her smaller workforce but also to focus on breads and gourmet pastry items that have been the focus all along.
Savrin called the changes the latest of the “variations” she’s made in running Café Rivkah along with her husband, Phil Savrin, an attorney who has helped out on the weekends.
She admitted that her wide range of breakfast and lunch offerings, served up fresh and made-to-order six days a week, along with catering and family meals, might have been too much to take on, especially with a revolving staff.
Over the last two weeks, some customers were concerned by the sign on the door and a similar notice on the restaurant’s Facebook page indicating the cafe would close, and that the business would be focusing on catering, special orders and brunch and dinner events by reservation.
But during the middle of last week, the website announced the reopening. The new menu items will eventually be posted there.
She explained to customers that “to maintain the quality of food and service that meets these standards, I’ve made the decision to scale back and take a more hands-on approach to everything we prepare. This will mean more limited production and operating hours . . . so that everything we offer reflects the standards I’ve set for myself and am committed to upholding.”
Breakfast items include Shakshuka, a Mediterrean dish of eggs cooked in tomatoes and spices, Khachapuri, a Georgian (the nation, not the state) baked dish of cheese bread, Challah French toast, bagels, croissants and pastries and some egg/omelet offerings.
The lunch menu is focused on a variety of personal-pan pizzas. Coffees, teas, juices and other drinks are also served.
Savrin admits that she’d like nothing more than to “bake and cook all day,” but said that simplifying her managerial tasks were imperative.
Finding consistent help has been hard for many restaurants and retail businesses, especially since COVID-19. She said Café Rivkah had paid “above the market rate” for kitchen and front-counter help, and that “when we tried to limit pay, that didn’t work out well.”
The biggest obstacle has been keeping a cook. Café Rivkah opened with a chef go match Savrin’s desire for a Mediterranean-oriented menu, and has had several others running the kitchen since then.
One of the reasons she decided to keep the doors open is that “we have good people who love this place.”
That refers to her current staff of herself and three others, plus a doughmaker who comes once a week, on Sunday, to help expedite the new arrangement.
She waves to the latter, expressing a sigh of relief, as he heads out the door.
“He’s been my safety net.”
Café Rivkah is located at 2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2104. Phone: 678-402-5809.
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