THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609100115
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: ON THE TOWN
TYPE: RESTAURANT REVIEW
SOURCE: SAM MARTINETTE
LENGTH: 85 lines
The King's Head Inn was the most popular Hampton Boulevard collegiate nightspot the year Kimberly and Jeff Sniffen were born.
These 28-year-old Willoughby Spit residents recently opened the Old Dominion Coffee Co. in the building where a generation of students and faculty quaffed brews. They have heard about famous musicians playing the King's Head before they hit the big time. They even inherited a board plastered with memorabilia, photos of the bands that played there, newspaper articles and columns.
But that was then, and this is now, and although the Old Dominion Coffee Co. offers beer and wine along with its eclectic menu of french fry-covered salads, bread bowl soups and baked, smoked ravioli appetizers, customers are as likely to order a cup of chocolate macadamia nut or hazelnut cream coffee as brew from a tap.
``Our customers do a shot of espresso instead of a shot of tequila,'' said Kimberly Sniffen, former director of catering at the Founders Inn.
She has nine years of experience in the hotel food business, much of it at D.C. hotels. She and her husband Jeff - a former football player at West Virginia University who played arena football in Canada - and their best friend and partner, Greg Lukas, 26, a former collegiate wrestler who spends his days ``in corporate America,'' spent the summer stripping years of rock 'n' roll residue from the walls of the Hampton Boulevard landmark.
They like the location because of its proximity to Old Dominion University and several upscale neighborhoods.
``We saw the need,'' Kimberly explained. ``We looked at the block and saw a lot of bars and strip clubs, and although we're trying to capture the college audience, we felt the Larchmont and Ghent communities would be served as well. So we set out to establish a comfortable, family-oriented atmosphere.''
A new entrance, white walls and minimalist window treatments lighten the interior while sofa arrangements dominate the lower dining room, which also sports a new bar and a deli counter full of desserts. There are specialty coffees for sale by the cup or the pound, a television, magazines in one corner and booths under the windows. A back room is equipped for banquets and business meetings.
``We've already had couples come in and sit on the sofa to play chess or checkers,'' Kimberly said, ``and we don't mind if they sit there for three hours.''
I asked Jeff about the coffeehouse craze sweeping the nation.
``People are looking for coffee bars,'' he said. ``It's gotten to be a place to meet people on a more intellectual basis. A place where you can get a good cup of coffee, eat and read a book, and it's not a smoky bar.''
Open at 8 a.m. for eggs, bagels and other light breakfast fare, the menu includes starters such as Red Hot Chile Poppers (hot jalapeno halves filled with cream cheese and breaded with a spicy mix, $4.25); breaded smoked ravioli filled with a blend of smoked Italian cheeses, served with a marinara sauce for dipping ($4.50); nachos ($5.75) or chicken fingers ($5.95), even a wine and cheese board (domestic cheese served with French bread and a glass of house wine, $5.25).
Salads include a Greek ($6.25); Chicken Salad Nora, a family recipe served in a bread bowl ($6.75); and the unusual char-broiled chicken or steak salad - chunks of marinated chicken breast or steak served on a bed of lettuce with provolone cheese and topped - that's right - topped with fries and your choice of dressing ($6.75). I'm told this item relates to Kimberly's youth in Pittsburgh.
There are soups in bread bowls, such as New England Clam Chowder, a French Onion, and chili; burgers, including turkey and garden burgers; and sandwiches, such as a Monte Cristo or Reuben ($5.95); Club or Philly Cheesesteak ($5.75); even peanut butter and jelly ($1.99).
After 5 p.m., entrees include Fettucine Alfredo, or Jeff's mom's lasagna recipe ($7.50); Chicken Diablo (two boneless breasts filled with cream cheese, mushrooms, onion and garlic and topped with Dijon mustard, brown sugar and walnuts ($10.95); crab cakes ($9.50); and an open-faced turkey and dressing ($6.95). ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
Jeff and Kimberly Sniffen have opened the Old Dominion Coffee Co.
along with their partner Greg Lukas, right.
Graphic
Old Dominion Coffee Company: 4220 Hampton Blvd., 423-4211.
Food: soups, salads, sandwiches, specialty entrees, coffees and
desserts; wine and beer.
Prices: dinner entrees $7-$11 range.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday-Saturday, coffee and desserts
from 10-11 p.m. by CNB