BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT: The legacy behind Roberts Place Cafe
By Cara Pridemore
Owner of Roberts Place Café and The Robin’s Nest, Dorothy Roberts
Between 8 and 8:30 a.m., one table remains unoccupied at the Roberts Place Café until a particular customer arrives.
“We don’t seat anyone at her table, even on a Saturday,” said Dorothy Roberts, the owner of Roberts Place Café. This level of comfort and familiarity defines the atmosphere at Roberts Place Café in the community of Pass Christian. With an American Southern-style menu, Roberts relies on her childhood influences and past experiences to provide customers with a unique experience. A highlight of her day is listening to elderly customers’ stories about her late but beloved parents.
The Roberts Place Café is an extension of the Robin’s Nest, Roberts’ next-door boutique. After retiring from her role as a social worker, Roberts decided to lean into her creative spirit by making and selling jewelry. She established the Robin’s Nest, naming it after her sister Robin Roberts, a co-anchor on ABC’s Good Morning America. Roberts said her sister loved growing up in Pass Christian, and, despite moving around frequently as part of a military family, she considers it her hometown.
Roberts obtained the property for her boutique and café when someone told her about a four-bedroom house for sale. She toured it and immediately began conceptualizing a café. She decided the vacant adjacent building, an old Napa Auto Parts store, would function as the boutique, and the house would be a café. She purchased both properties, completed minimal renovations to the boutique, and opened it in 2015.
The café took longer to renovate, with a converted pantry, service room, customer bathroom and two dining rooms. Roberts Place Café opened in January 2022.
“You have to walk in, take a left, and go through a little hallway,” Roberts said. “On one end of the hallway is mom’s room in the front of the building, and then dad’s room is in the back.”
Each room holds approximately twelve people and is themed with various photos and memorabilia dedicated to each parent.
Roberts says ne of her favorite displayed items is a plaque Roberts’ father gave to her mother.
“It has all the different roles that she played within our family,” Roberts said. “She was not just a housewife; she basically ran our household for us and did all the various things that a mother and a wife would do within a military family.”
Roberts highlights both of her parents’ community service, dedication to their country and hospitality.
Dorothy Roberts and her family
Roberts hopes to follow in her parents’ footsteps and create an inviting space. Her menu features nostalgic customer favorites, including shrimp and grits and Mom’s Rosemary Baked Chicken.
“We actually serve breakfast the entire time we’re open,” Roberts said. She says she hopes to add more items to the menu, including a new pancake meal that is currently offered only as a side. She also plans to move the counter facing the wall to the window and add a pergola to create a more comfortable outdoor seating area.
Even with plans for growth, Roberts Place Café remains rooted in its local community. The space has become a central gathering place, with a church ladies’ group and community book club meeting regularly in mom’s room.
“Every second Tuesday of every month, the ladies’ group comes right at 9 o’clock, and we put them in mama’s room,” Roberts said. “They have almost a standing reservation with us.”
In all she does, Roberts says she hopes that her café stands as a tribute to her family.
“I created this café as a legacy for my parents for the things that they did in their life,” she said. By honoring them, Roberts has created a place where stories can be shared and memories can be created, and she is excited about the future of Roberts Place Café.
