BUCKHANNON – Fish Hawk Acres now offers a daily dinner buffet and rentable sleeping accommodations as the popular downtown bistro continues to innovate and expand.
Owner Dale Hawkins said Fish Hawk started offering the buffet this week to entice customers to sit down for dinner at the Main Street market.
“We’ve always been slow in the evenings, as far as people coming in and eating here,” Hawkins said. “People usually come in and take stuff to go, so we just wanted to change it up.”
To-go orders have been a staple of Fish Hawk Acres since it opened, but as the business has expanded over the years — most recently by moving the retail items to the nearby Coop — the restaurant now has more seating for guests to enjoy a meal out on the town.
The buffet, which changes daily, is typically offered from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and costs $17 per person. Seniors over 65 receive a discounted price of $15 per person, and children under 10 are $10 each.
“I’ve been super pleased with the feedback on the buffet,” Hawkins said.
This Saturday, guests will be treated to two special ramp-themed buffets.
“On Saturday, we’re doing the buffet from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. because it will be a special ramp-themed buffet,” Hawkins said. “We’re also doing a brunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday that will also be ramped-themed.”
The March 11 brunch buffet menu includes Ramp Chowder, Spinach Salad with Bacon and Ramp Vinaigrette, Fresh Fruits and Berries, Assorted Pastries, Biscuits and Gravy, Roast Tavern Ham, Omelet or Eggs any Style and Fried Potatoes with Ramps. The dinner buffet will feature Spinach Salad with Bacon and Ramp Vinaigrette, Soup Beans, Corn Muffins, Tavern Ham, Ramp Fried Potatoes, Collard Greens with Ramps, Macaroni & Cheese with Ramps, Deviled Eggs and Mamaw’s Buttermilk Brownies.
Fish Hawk Acres has introduced another offering tailored to out-of-town guests. The Hawk’s Nest is now a rentable space offering two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen.
“We finished that about the third week of February,” Hawkins said. “We moved all the dining furniture to the old yoga studio, and now that’s the event space. The apartment is an Airbnb, so we’re utilizing the space better. Since we made that first post about the Airbnb, we’ve received 30 bookings. We do everything through Airbnb. We don’t take the reservation; you go online and make the reservation.”
The space can be found on Airbnb under the name Hawk’s Nest. It costs $150 a night on Fridays and Saturdays and $120 a night for the rest of the week.
“The people who have rented it so far are mostly college parents,” Hawkins said. “Some are people who are coming to town to take one of our classes and don’t want to drive home that night, or they are attending our market dinners. A lot of times, couples will team up, and each takes one room. They basically have an apartment with a kitchen and a bathroom.”
Click here to make a reservation on Airbnb. Click here to browse the Fish Hawk classes, market dinners and other special events.
Hawkins is also working on completing the menus for the popular summer farm dinners in Rock Cave and should have those ready in mid-April.
