Cultures Convene at Mountain Table — Greenbrier Valley Quarterly

Story by Barbara Elliott

Photography by Mary and Josh Baldwin

Tuesday nights are magical in the small community of Renick in northern Greenbrier County. It is then that friends and neighbors gather at The Mountain Table to eat food inspired by different cultures, drink locally crafted beers , wine and spirits, and perhaps play a game or enjoy live music.

The Mountain Table is the brainchild of Alexander Durand and his partner Nadine Sonneville. What began solely as a coffee roastery has evolved into an oasis in the food desert between Lewisburg and Hillsboro that features not only the Tuesday dinners, but also breakfast three mornings a week.

Durand and Sonneville met in Lewisburg, where Durand had moved to work for Greenbrier Valley Brewing Company. When he was furloughed from that job, they decided to pursue their dream of opening a small coffee roastery. The property in Renick that had been home to the Blue and Gray Pub became available, and although they were not really expecting to go brick and mortar that soon, they made the leap and headed north.

The first order of business was to change the aesthetic of the space by adding windows and brightening up the interior to create a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere. They added some long tables so people could sit at communal spot together. “We didn’t know where to start, Durand admits. “In 2023 we partnered with the Renick Community Center to host their farmer’s market. We brought in food trucks to create a pop-up kitchen with vendors including A Taste of Excellence, When Pigs Fly, Six Pence Pizza, and The Dawg House. They set up in the parking lot outside the market because at first no one wanted to come in here. We wanted to be ready instead of rushed.”

The food trucks were not interested in continuing after the farmer’s market closed in October, so it was time to bring the food indoors. They started offering farm-to-table dinners on Tuesdays featuring local meats and produce, organically grown whenever possible. In the meantime, they slowly built the coffee side of the business by establishing partnerships with clients, creating custom roasts for some. “We can roast 35 pounds in 20 minutes,” Durand says. “We have roasted 12,000 pounds of coffee so far. We are now into all the Food Lions and Healthy Life Markets in West Virginia and a slew of local shops and businesses. We also do cold brew for the state parks.”

Although he has not formally trained as a chef, Durand learned a great deal from his father, a chef in New York, and by working under chefs in restaurant kitchens since he was 16. He came up with the idea of offering food inspired by international cuisines and occasionally bringing in guest chefs of different nationalities to cook or advise on authentic dishes they grew up eating in their families. Durand laughs that he has found a number of guest chefs hiding in the hollers. His contention is that if they grew up eating a certain ethnic food, they know more from eating it than they would learn from culinary school.

“Nadine and I ran it by ourselves at first. The first time we featured Indian food, we served over 85 plates in a two-hour time period, Durand remembers. “Ninety is a crazy night for us. We try to keep it simple to avoid waste and so people don’t have a long menu to wade through. It’s basically a community. People see their neighbors on Tuesdays. The clientele is mostly local. We have a strong group of 15-20 there every Tuesday, or they call to apologize for not being there. Another 20 or so come about once a month. Depending on the cuisine, we may get a larger draw.”

For 2025 they are planning a virtual culinary United Nations with dishes from Thailand, Poland, Italy, Mexico, Greece, Appalachia, Jamaica, Germany and Scotland to name a few. The first Tuesday of each month is designated Taco Tuesday. They have even published a calendar listing all the specials for the coming year.

Once the Tuesday dinners were firmly established, the pair decided to start serving breakfast on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. They gave away free biscuits the first week to attract customers. It is taking off a bit slower, but we are starting to get some regulars, Durand says. “At first we opened at 6, but we find it works best from 8-11.”

The breakfast entries include homemade biscuits and baked items including muffins, bagels and the latest addition—doughnuts filled with jams and jellies from Jarhead Farms. The fare also includes build-your-own omelets, or eggs with a side from Spring Creek Superior Meats. The in-house baker and co-owner, Nicole Petchulat, is from Germany and prides herself on making crispy, yeasted Belgian waffles, which Durand explains are not super sweet and make a great vessel for toppings.

Durand sees sustainability as a keystone of The Mountain Table. They use no plastic dishes or cutlery, and have recently started offering compostable coffee pods. To the delight of those who find it inconvenient to drive to Ronceverte to take their recycling, they have set up a recycling drop-off that accepts everything from cardboard to glass. “When we first conceived of the concept, I contacted Greenworks (a Lewisburg-based recycling company), and they liked the idea because it saved them time by only having to do one pickup. We used crates at first, and it was like the Wild West. Then we got a grant of $750 from The West Virginia Hive to put in a recycling center. We also did fund raisers to be sure there was interest.” There is now a trailer in the parking lot with separated bins for recyclables and a shed for glass. Donations are encouraged to help cover expenses.

Looking ahead, Durand says they want to further increase coffee sales. That business increased 50 percent from 2023 to 2024 and they now feel ready to expand to a larger grocery store chain or all Food Lions. “We would like to be open more days and maybe add wood fired pizzas or subs,” he says. They will be hosting a Farm-to-Buffet brunch on Sundays from 10am-2pm and “Sunday Funday” learning workshops after the brunch. The workshops will include sourdough classes, soap making, fly tying, and much more. Durand adds, “In all we do, we try to elevate and gain attention to Renick and the people in it. People are really nice in our little sections of the Valley.”

The Mountain Table

24140 Seneca Trail

Renick, WV 24966

(304) 667-4504

www.mountaintablewv.com