Darcy Heine opened Fiddlehead Fern Café in 2017 as a coffee shop and gathering place in the Shaw neighborhood, intent on creating and encouraging community. It has been overwhelmingly successful at it: On any given day, you’ll see people walking the tree-lined streets on their way to the café to grab a meal or tea, coffee and a few pastries – who could resist? – with friends, kids or their dogs. The café, which recently finished a major renovation project, will now have even more space to welcome friends and neighbors.
The corner of Russell and Thurman didn’t always draw crowds. In its former life, the site where Fiddlehead stands was home to a long-abandoned gas station: an eyesore in the neighborhood. Owner Darcy Heine, who grew up in Shaw, was drawn to the space and knew she could transform it. The decision to build what would become Fiddlehead, Heine says, was the starting point in her commitment to revitalize the community. “I opened the café with a simple concept, but I’ve always been a dreamer, and I think that’s partly why it became so much more so quickly,” Heine says.
Darcy Heine, owner, Fiddlehead Fern Café.
Heine’s simple gathering spot has grown – in both tangible and intangible ways – into something more than a simple coffee shop. Thanks to a meticulous expansion project and renovations to the existing space, Fiddlehead Fern Café is nothing less than a full-fledged restaurant. “Our guests needed this expansion long before we were financially able to go for it,” Heine says. “We started out with a 1,500-square-foot space, practically bursting at the seams.” Thanks to a highly supportive community, Fiddlehead has been able to add an additional 300 square feet of space dedicated to production and acquired the adjacent 3,600-square-foot lot to the east of the building for the development of an expansive courtyard area.
The team's experience working in a smaller space was critical to thinking about the expansion. “I think working in a space that was too small for everything we were trying to accomplish for so long allowed us to be really strategic on what we wanted for our new space,” Heine says.
Every element is designed for beauty and functionality: In the front, new stone countertops replace the original wood and house built-in Modbar by La Marzocco coffee equipment, and a new walk-in cooler and freezer allow for increased storage in the back. Fox Park-based Object Workshop created custom work tables for the kitchen and cold-pressed juice station, and its custom baker’s racks store daily pastry prep up and away from work areas. Local woodworker Rustic Grain made the built-in bench lining the dining room and the warm wood tables that sit throughout. The layout of the interior has been worked and reworked in order to allow for maximum efficiency and crowd flow, especially on busy weekends. It also allows Fiddlehead to easily reconfigure the dining area to accommodate larger private events outside of its regular hours.
The abandoned gas station where Fiddlehead Fern Café now stands.
Fiddlehead Fern Cafe, after its recent expansion and renovation.
The abandoned gas station where Fiddlehead Fern Café now stands.
Fiddlehead Fern Cafe, after its recent expansion and renovation.
The exterior improvements build on interior efficiencies, with a pickup window and walk-up ordering available for those who want to skip the line. Coming soon are the finishing touches to the outdoor courtyard, which is partially covered and heated. “Our outdoor courtyard space is something we’re really excited about, and we’re especially looking forward to spring and summer when we can start planting and getting it looking closer to the ‘secret garden’ we envision.” The courtyard will also provide additional space for private events and overflow from the dining room.
The expansion and improvements within benefit production, allowing Heine and her team to expand the menu and elevate the overall experience for customers. Over time, Fiddlehead has outgrown its coffee shop identify, deftly transitioning into an elevated dining experience customers feel at home in, an achievement Heine is quick to credit her team with. Over the past five years, she’s cultivated a whole team of standout women who take ownership over individual creative aspects of the business. The menu reflects this, with dishes and drinks that are precisely crafted using fresh, local ingredients and an eye towards seasonality.
The winter version of Fiddlehead's seasonal avocado toast.
The moon goddess latte, made with ube syrup.
This winter, staff favorites include the avocado toast, with housemade vegan herb butter, crispy roasted kale, house-pickled red cabbage, hemp seeds and local maple syrup drizzle; and the Pompeia salad, made from local mixed greens, house-pickled red cabbage, edamame, toasted chickpeas, housemade croutons, hemp seeds and housemade vegan Caesar dressing. The Moon Goddess ube tea latte is Fiddlehead’s version of a London Fog using housemade ube syrup, which gives the drink a vibrant purple hue and naturally sweet flavor. Cranberry lime nitro cold brew is one of several drinks added to the tap since the renovation; the infusion of nitrogen adds a creamy roundness to the texture, similar to Guinness. Also on tap are Prosecco and local favorite Confluence Kombucha.
From abandoned lot to flourishing restaurant, Heine has been able to keep the same focus: establishing community in an area ripe for it. “[The idea of community] continues to be my driving force, but it took me a couple of years to realize that there’s a whole community within our team that has been cultivated since the beginning," she says. "We think we’re doing a pretty cool thing. Watching our team grow in skill, in character and in being the best versions of themselves has been my favorite part of this journey.”
This journey hasn’t ended with the expansion project. “We have a lot of plans for our future, and I think this renovation was the first step,” Heine says. Watch for an expanded beverage selection at the restaurant and a ramp-up with the events side of the business. No matter what the future holds, Heine and her team will continue to make community their top priority.
Fiddlehead Fern Café, 4006 Russell Blvd., Shaw, St. Louis, Missouri, 314-300-8111, fiddelheadferncafe.com
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Darcy Heine, owner, Fiddlehead Fern Café.
The winter version of Fiddlehead's seasonal avocado toast.
The moon goddess latte, made with ube syrup.