MARCH 29TH, BREAKFAST or LUNCH, 10:00 AM, SUMMERSET HALL CAFE, DOVER, KS
Posted: Thu Mar 23, 2023 11:06 am
This week’s pick may be very interesting to some of us. It had been thought that this cafe was closed until I called to find out if they were still open. My findings were that the Cafe has recently changed hands and is now open for business. An interesting side note to all of this, is that the new owner is no stranger to our Romeo Riders. Lo and behold the new owner, Becky, is a cousin to a couple of our Romeo riders that most of us know well, Janet & Tadd from Independence, Kansas. We thank you, Becky, for keeping our favorite Cafe alive!!!
To promote Becky’s new adventure, here is some history of interest. The building here began as the Sage General Store in the late 1800s. The owner, Alfred Sage, named it “Sommerset Hall” after his birthplace in Somersetshire, Bristol, England. The Oddfellows Lodge began meeting in the upstairs in 1902 and purchased the building in 1905. The Dover Lodge (I.O.O.F #490) still meets in Sommerset Hall today.
The Cafe, which occupies the lower floor of the building, became nationally famous in November 2008 when Good Morning America Weekend announced that the Coconut Cream Pie baked by Sommerset Hall Cafe's Norma Grubb was the winner of their Best Slice Challenge. The notoriety increased demand for the pies to the point that whole pies could no longer be purchased, and the slices of pie must be eaten in the Cafe. Norma only baked about 8 pies a day, wanting her customers to be able to enjoy a slice of pie with their meals.
Angela is now the new pie maker for “Summerset Hall Cafe” I can personally recommend that the pies made by Angela can still steal your heart away. She has earned her own notoriety by keeping the heritage of “Summerset Hall Cafe in Dover, Ks. alive and well. So, let’s saddle up to go meet the new owner, Becky, and try a piece of some “Notorious” pie. “Happy Trails, and hope to see you all there!
SUMMERSET HALL CAFE
5701 SW Douglas Road
Dover, Topeka Ks 66610
(785) 256-6223
Here is the link to all scheduled Romeo Rides:
https://tinyurl.com/wd4hsez
The old Sage General Store in the late 1800s.
Todays “Sommerset Hall,” was named after Alfred Sage's birthplace in Somersetshire, Bristol, England.
To promote Becky’s new adventure, here is some history of interest. The building here began as the Sage General Store in the late 1800s. The owner, Alfred Sage, named it “Sommerset Hall” after his birthplace in Somersetshire, Bristol, England. The Oddfellows Lodge began meeting in the upstairs in 1902 and purchased the building in 1905. The Dover Lodge (I.O.O.F #490) still meets in Sommerset Hall today.
The Cafe, which occupies the lower floor of the building, became nationally famous in November 2008 when Good Morning America Weekend announced that the Coconut Cream Pie baked by Sommerset Hall Cafe's Norma Grubb was the winner of their Best Slice Challenge. The notoriety increased demand for the pies to the point that whole pies could no longer be purchased, and the slices of pie must be eaten in the Cafe. Norma only baked about 8 pies a day, wanting her customers to be able to enjoy a slice of pie with their meals.
Angela is now the new pie maker for “Summerset Hall Cafe” I can personally recommend that the pies made by Angela can still steal your heart away. She has earned her own notoriety by keeping the heritage of “Summerset Hall Cafe in Dover, Ks. alive and well. So, let’s saddle up to go meet the new owner, Becky, and try a piece of some “Notorious” pie. “Happy Trails, and hope to see you all there!
SUMMERSET HALL CAFE
5701 SW Douglas Road
Dover, Topeka Ks 66610
(785) 256-6223
Here is the link to all scheduled Romeo Rides:
https://tinyurl.com/wd4hsez
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