Cravings on Mason Avenue

Margaret Heilman, and her husband, Matt, felt the pull of this special town, too. “We had been vacationing in Cape Charles for several years. We started thinking, what would be great in Cape Charles is a place where you can get something quick, easy and good to eat. We thought, what can we do, and how can we do it?”

Soon, the idea for Cravings was born. In December, 2020, they moved to Oyster and started bringing their idea to life. “I was going to do all the cooking and my husband was going to keep his job in Newport News,” says Margaret. But as they got such huge interest from people finding the soon-to-come business on Facebook, they realized it would be all hands-on deck.

“Everyone was so eager and anxious for us to open and to see what Cravings was going to be. People wondered, what is this? ‘Grab and go,’ what does it mean?”

Simply put, Cravings is a great little spot offering incredibly delicious handmade-daily grab-and- go sandwiches, salads, quiche, pizzas and more. You can get in and out quick and can keep on enjoying your day at the beach, on the water, or strolling along the colorful streets of Cape Charles. Sweet, savory, and simple. That’s why Cravings hit the spot in such a big way for locals and beach-bound vacationers alike when it opened in July, 2021.

“Sometimes,” Margaret says, “in the middle of the season, it’s too busy to get lunch at a lot of restaurants, so people stumbled upon us. August of last year was amazing… we never would have imagined we’d sell 2,000 sandwiches in a month. We’re really grateful for the reception we’ve gotten.”

Margaret, who has a degree in Hospitality with a concentration in Food and Beverage, and a minor in Business has enjoyed plenty of experience in the restaurant industry, but nothing quite like Cravings. Over the years, she worked as head baker at a cupcakery, as a pastry chef for a catering company, and at a French bakery in Norfolk. Now she and Matt work six days a week (likely seven, soon!) crafting good, ‘real’ food that’s as tasty as it is convenient. “We start in the morning and make sandwiches throughout the day. When we run out of Tazewells, we make six more Tazewells. We just keep rotating through,” explains Margaret.

The Tazewell is one of their most popular sandwiches—it’s turkey, bacon, smoked gouda and chipotle aioli on a croissant square. No wonder they have to keep making this one all day!

Don’t let the ‘grab-and-go’ part fool you. The delectable food at Cravings is ‘sit down, savor every bite, and come again tomorrow’ good.  “We’re always tasting and testing new recipes, so we recommend checking us on Facebook or Instagram to see new items and daily specials,” Margaret says.

“Matt always says, ‘keep it streamlined!’ But I can’t! I just love food and I love cooking. We do pizza every Tuesday, we do quiche on the weekends, sweet potato biscuits by special order…it’s all homemade. We make all the sauces and dressings ourselves. It’s one- hundred percent homemade by the two of us,” Margaret explains.

Cravings has fast become something that visitors and locals love about Cape Charles. Margaret and Matt are grateful for the incredible reception they’ve had. And they’re glad they made this area home. “We love the small-town feel here,” says Margaret. “You can go anywhere, and everybody’s so friendly. It’s such a good family community. We lived in Portsmouth before, and we just wanted to kind of slow down and unwind a little bit. It’s a great area.”

We’re glad Margaret and Matt are sharing their talents with Cape Charles. We believe Cravings is one of the things that make this special, Eastern Shore hometown even better. Stop by and check out Cravings for yourself.

Ready to try the delicious handmade grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, quiches, pizzas and more from Cravings on Mason Avenue? Visit www.capecravings.com to see the menu and learn more!

Grab it and GO…and come back often!