Ever since her days in culinary school, Brittany Williams has dreamed of opening her own bakery. In 2021, she purchased a food truck, painted it pink and hit the road with Cafe Beignet, serving the puffy, hot, fried-to-order pastries. Williams quickly gained a following for her inventive and playful twists on the New Orleans classic, with Richmonders waiting in long lines for a bite of the sweet beignets. Williams found her niche with homeowners' associations and local businesses. “I was really fortunate because I didn’t have to do a lot of legwork when it came to finding places to park because people were calling me,” she says. Cafe Beignet’s menu features traditional varieties in flavors such as apple fritter, honey bun and strawberry cheesecake, in addition to lattes, coffee and sweet tea. Now, only a year after making its debut, Cafe Beignet is adding to its rising business and expanding to a brick-and-mortar bakery at 3 N. 17th St. in Shockoe Bottom that is scheduled to open this month.
Brittany Williams, owner of Cafe Beignet
Richmond magazine: Why beignets? What was the inspiration behind the concept?
Brittany Williams: Just being a pastry chef in general, I knew I wanted to bring some type of pastry to Richmond. I do have roots in Louisiana and Mississippi, so I thought about things that I made growing up — I would make beignets with my grandfather all the time. When I did my research, I realized there are not many places that have beignets in the Richmond area, so I thought, “Let’s do beignets on wheels and see what happens!”
RM: What sets your beignets apart?
Williams: Everyone has their own spin on how they make them. Some people might say mine aren’t “authentically New Orleans,” but that was never my intention. It is my recipe, and I made the dough a certain way so that I could be inventive with the flavors. I knew that people would eat the traditional flavor, but I wanted to have specialties. I have honey bun and strawberry cheesecake, things like that.
RM: How has the process been operating Cafe Beignet as a food truck? What are the hopes for expansion?
Williams: It has been an adventure, and I don’t regret anything, but it has also been a challenge. I prep everything in a commercial kitchen. I make the dough and cut about 600 beignets every morning at 2 a.m., and then I take those with me and fry and dress them to order on the truck. As for my expansion, I hope to hire a staff to take the truck out to all of the homeowners' associations that we frequent now. But my goal is to open up several locations around Virginia: Midlothian, Colonial Heights, Petersburg. I never planned to open a brick-and-mortar location so soon, but when my brother, who was my biggest supporter, passed away recently, I realized that life is short, and I should just do it. So I’m doing this for him.
RM: How has your family helped you in the process of opening your business?
Williams: When I started, I thought I was going to be a one-woman show completely, but my family insisted on helping. My mom and my sister, on top of working their own jobs, would come and work with me on their days off, and my dad rigged the truck to be more functional. My family has just been a great support and the most honest taste testers. They are not shy about saying, “Oh, we like this, and we don’t like this.” I am also just grateful that Richmond has been so supportive. I will never get over how well received my product has been. People are willing to wait in long lines, and everyone is just so nice. I couldn’t have pictured it any better.
