Lancaster Beignet Co. Serves With Love
By Maddy Pontz
Lancaster Beignet Company celebrated one year in business this month — and, since opening, their cafe has been a huge hit with Lancaster’s foodie community. It’s clear that Owners (and married couple!) Collin and Annie Dawkins imbue every beignet, cup of coffee, and other treat that leaves their shop with love. As a result, each bite is absolutely delicious.
The team here at Food is Love is also excited to share that Lancaster Beignet Company is featured in our 2024 Cafe & Coffee Calendar — now available for purchase here.
We chatted with Collin about their path to starting a business, their recipes, and what “food is love” means to them.
What is your vision for Lancaster Beignet Company?
We want to provide a welcoming environment for everyone who enters our cafe. And introduce them to beignets as we know them.
What kinds of beverage and food options can folks expect from you?
We have a pretty simple menu — beignets, beignet sandwiches like our breakfast sandwich and BLT, and coffee/espresso/tea drinks, as well as some specials.
Our beignet recipe is a family recipe that originated in Picayune, Mississippi. We serve authentic beignets in Lancaster City, and I think that is a huge differentiator for us.
What was your path to opening your business?
We started a Bloody Mary Mix company (Sunday’s Bloody Mary Mix) in 2020 as a side hustle. Then in 2020 and 2021, we quit our jobs to go all in on being self-employed. We continued to grow Sunday’s, and then we started testing out a new concept in a “cloud kitchen.” We used the shared commercial kitchen on Plum Street in Lancaster City, and began offering a Cajun menu for pick-up and take-out only. The brand was called “Mississippi Gumbo.” It was well received, and people LOVED our beignets. After the test run, we started our search for our own location, and found the perfect spot on N. Prince Street to open up a cafe.
What does “food is love” mean to you?
Food is love means two things to me: One, I think about the feeling I get when I taste the first bite of an amazing meal. That's love.
Two, I also think about it from the other end — how it feels for us to put so much of ourselves into our cafe, and then see people love the food we make for them. That’s love, too.
The big one: Why do you do what you do — what is your driving purpose behind your work?
We do what we do because we love creating. Annie is so good at creating environments, and managing our team. And I really enjoy growing our brand, and seeing our business run successfully. We love working for ourselves, and knowing that we can make the cafe anything we want it to be. Being a part of Lancaster’s small business community and getting to know our customers is amazing.
For more information on Lancaster Beignet Company, visit lancasterbeignetco.com. Or, try one of their delicious beignets at their shop, located at 230 N. Prince Street, Lancaster.
Photos by Mark Pontz, originally photographed for Fine Living Lancaster magazine