'Cooking with love': Mediterranean-style cafe and bakery opens in east Cobb

Stuart Hendrick, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
Updated ·3 min read

Apr. 12—EAST COBB — The smell of fresh baked bread wafts from the kitchen behind a white marble counter where a tray of doughnut balls pierced by toothpicks greets customers with a sign reading "free samples."

No longer just available at the Marietta Farmers Market on Saturdays thanks to her fans, Vicky Savrin's baked goods are now served at her Cafe Rivkah in the Pavilions at East Lake shopping center off of Roswell Road.

Smooth, clean wood tables and booths fill the interior of the bakery.

Stepping to the counter, guests can peruse the menu of cold and hot coffees and teas available to order listed on two black chalk boards.

"We still sell bread at the Marietta Farmers Market every Saturday," Savrin said. "But now we have a place for people to come enjoy fresh bagels, breads, pastries and other Mediterranean goods for breakfast and lunch. We want to be a community destination. We cater, too."

Savrin, a former software developer from the Philippines, moved to the United States 26 years ago and has loved baking for as long as she can remember. Her hobby eventually grew into a catering business, and after numerous inquiries from customers into where people could go to grab her baked goods, Savrin decided to open a dine-in location, which began welcoming customers last month.

Savrin converted to Judaism for her husband, Philip Savrin, who helps run the business side of the operation. The name of her cafe — Rivkah — comes from the Hebrew word rabak, which means to mix or stir. Savrin lives in the Vinings area with her husband.

"We recently provided pavlova for a Seder dinner feeding 50 and tons of mini croissants for Easter," she said. "Business is starting to pick up, and not just catering."

The cafe also caters two meals a day for 120 children at a child development center in North Druid Hills, Savrin said.

Head Chef Nina Tarabay, who moved to America from Lebanon about eight years ago, said her passion is baking.

"I'm a baker," Tarabay said. "I cook with love, and really enjoy making hummus and quinoa salad. It's the right Mediterranean hummus, done the Lebanese way."

Nicholas Zucker, the pastry chef and a 2019 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, helps to make and fill doughnuts, croissants and cakes.

"My favorite pastry to make is a chocolate raspberry tart," Zucker said. "I recently got the go ahead to start making my custom cakes, which I was doing for friends before working here.

"We do quite a lot of catering, but our foot traffic is picking up as we expand our local reach and clientele."

Cafe Rivkah also offers small plates, salads, sandwiches, and soups.

To see a menu, or to order online, visit the cafe's website — www.caferivkah.com — or its Facebook page.

Cafe Rivkah is located at 2100 Roswell Road, Suite 2014 in the Pavilions at East Lake and is open six days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cafe is closed on Mondays.