Beyond the Garden Cafe

My name is Elena Gustavson and together with Cheyenne Thompson, we run Beyond the Garden Cafe in Craftsbury, Vermont.

Serving creative, vegetarian fare, the cafe is located in a log cabin built by William Strong, Cheyenne's stepfather. She and her brother grew up there surrounded by beautiful gardens and the wonderful cooking of her mother Penny. Penny Strong opened up the cafe in 2002, serving up lunch to a steady flow of regular locals and a devoted following of summer residents. Penny handed the reins over to her daughter Cheyenne last spring, who was no stranger to the cafe because she had helped her mom from the start. Cheyenne has a wonderful eye for detail and she creates stunningly beautiful plates of food. Pair that with her enthusiastic energy and she is a real pleasure to work with. With my love for cooking, a few years of the restaurant business under my belt, and the advantage of working for a local organic farmer, I agreed to join Cheyenne in running the cafe. Together, we will continue to bring the creative, yummy food that Beyond the Garden is known for, but with a few of our own touches including dinner, music, revolving art displays and special community events like wellness clinics and game nights.