Five Loaves Cafe Archives - There Goes Connie

I love it when I think I’m going one place and along the way there or heading back home afterwards I find an unexpected treat. That happened again as we were leaving Charleston a few weeks ago. We discovered the pretty town of Summerville, South Carolina.

A view of Central Avenue in historic Summerville, SC.

It is only 24 miles northwest of Charleston. With a population of about 47,000, it is one-third the size of its more famous neighbor. Considering the housing prices in the big city, it is easy to see why many find financial refuge in Summerville.

The plan was to meet our friends at Five Loaves Cafe at noon (read more about it here), so we checked out of our inn (read about that wonderful inn here) a little early and drove on to Summerville, reasoning that we would snoop around a little before lunch. In less than an hour, we found a place we would love to have had more time to explore — historic downtown Summerville.

Five Loaves Cafe, Summerville location.

It’s a short block lined with shops, and other shops are behind the ones on this main drag. You have to find a parking place on the perimeter. Some of the most interesting shops we found were: Four Green Fields at 117 Central Avenue (that’s where we saw Sweet Tea Jelly), Bey & Eloise, a ladies apparel store at 143 Central Avenue, and The Village Knittery, one block over at 219 S. Cedar Street.

Four Green Fields.

Sweet Tea Jelly sold in Four Green Fields.

Bey and Eloise, womens’ apparel

The Village Knittery.

We spotted a beautiful mural painted on the side of a parking garage near Four Green Fields and learned later that it was painted by Hitnes, a Roman artist. Hitnes describes himself as being inspired by nature and John James Audubon. His mural is a part of the efforts of B.I.R.D.S., which stands for Birds in Residence: Downtown Summerville. Read more about that organization here.

Bird Mural by Hitnes.

I urge you to explore unexpected places to mine them for gold nuggets. So many places. So many enthusiastic business owners. So much loveliness and civic pride.

Healthy. Fresh. Locally-Sourced. Sustainable. Colorful. Comfort food. Affordable. Those are all words to describe the menu choices at Five Loaves Cafe with three locations in the Charleston area. 1) In Charleston itself at 43 Cannon Street 2) In Mt. Pleasant on Johnnie Dodds Blvd. and 3) In Summerville at 214 N. Cedar St. We had a great lunch at the Summerville location on the way home from a recent trip to Charleston. It was easily found right off I-26.

Five Loaves Cafe exterior, Summerville, SC

Attractive, quirky lights on the front porch in Summerville.

Five Loaves Cafe was founded in 2003 by Chef/Owner Casey Glowacki, who actually stood on the street corner in front of his first Charleston location offering soup samples to people passing by. Those tasters must have liked that soup. By 2004, Glowacki was joined by Partner/Owner Joe Fischbein, and they have become a very successful team with Glowacki working culinary magic and Fischbein overseeing the service and inner workings.

Eating out in the Charleston area is often a big-ticket item in a vacation budget. At Five Loaves Cafe, you can enjoy a nutritious, well-prepared meal at a great price. And there are numerous vegetarian options, if you are so inclined.

A handy-dandy way to list the daily specials — a roll of brown butcher paper.

Five Loaves Cafe was recently named in an article titled “8 Charleston Restaurants Perfect for When You’re Feeling Ill.” That makes logical sense considering the house made soups that are made fresh each day. Just yesterday, the daily soup specials, for example, were: Minestrone; Chicken tortilla; Asparagus, goat cheese and dill; Potato broccoli and cheddar; Mexican chicken chili with avocado and cilantro and Tomato tarragon with crab meat. Surely there was one on the list to suit pretty much ANYBODY.

The All-Natural Chicken Caesar Salad made the list of “27 Things You Need to Eat in Charleston Before You Die,” according to writer Rachel Labarre. Have you SEEN how many restaurants there are in Charleston? Can you imagine how many mouthwatering menu items could be found in that number of restaurants? It’s quite a compliment to be mentioned in such a category.

The lunch menu offers a 1/2 sandwich/soup or 1/2 sandwich/salad combination, and the sandwiches can be made from any of these breads: sourdough, croissant, multi-grain, rye, baguette or a spinach tortilla.

Check out the photos of the lunch choices enjoyed by the people at my table last week.

She crab soup and chicken salad on a bed of greens

Cucumber soup with a tuna sandwich on multi-grain bread

Roast beef on a croissant with a veggie salad featuring pickled carrots

Sandwich on multi-grain bread with a side of fresh fruit.

Maybe another great reason to give Five Loaves Cafe a try is how conducive it is to an enjoyable reunion of old friends.

Jim and Donna Rushen, current residents of Summerville, SC, with my Silver Fox and me.

Summerville, SC: An Unexpected Treat

Five Loaves Cafe: Affordable Charleston Area Eatery

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