The Covert Cafe

Posted on August 18, 2014 by

The Covert Café operates under the radar as a premiere luncheonette in the New Baltimore region and one of the Vint Hill community’s best-kept secrets. Local professionals and families visit the Covert Café for a quick breakfast or relaxing lunch on the patio, enjoying daily specials made from scratch and congregating at a local hotspot unpolluted by the congestion of midday lunch traffic.

Nestled between the Old Bust Head Brewing Company and the award-winning Vint Hill Craft Winery, the café sits across from the Cold War Museum and utilizes the attractive location to host live music events that feature talented local bands and musicians. Performances are staged on the lawn between the Vint Hill Craft Winery and the Café, enlivening the local Vint Hill community on the weekends. Many customers make a family ritual of picnicking with their children and dogs at Vint Hill’s central hub, which boasts a selection of Old Bust Head beers and Vint Hill Craft wine. The café is also the only place to find owner Lance Heflin’s lovingly smoked 14-hour brisket.

With a community spirit that seems to be shared by all the local businesses in the café’s corner, the Covert Café coordinates accordingly with its neighbor businesses to honor each other’s events and occasions. For the Vint Hill Craft Winery, the café acts as the perfect rest stop for people wanting to fuel up on hearty, delicious meals in between local wine tours. This Saturday, the café will celebrate the grand opening of Old Bust Head Brewery Taproom with a lively bluegrass band and a home-style cookout on the lawn.

Mr. Heflin is very passionate about the quality food he serves at Covert Café. He attributes much of the café’s success to the fact that “we love to cook and we love to eat.” Mr. Heflin has developed quite a community around the café, learning many of his regulars’ orders by heart.  Some of the usuals even have quirky, secret nicknames attached to their unique orders, including “The Mr. Ed,” although, he will not divulge the ingredients of the sandwich. Instead, he recommends his favorite sandwich, “The Big B.E.L.T.CH,” which is an acronym for Bacon, Egg, Lettuce, Tomato and Cheese served on Texas toast.

Covert Café is open Monday -Friday, 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.