Love, Lydia, a bakery and cafe in Wilmington that opened at the South Front development in late July, has expanded its menu. Owner Lydia Clopton was forced to close the cafe for 10 days because of Hurricane Florence, but was able to launch the new breakfast and lunch items within days of reopening.
 
“Thankfully we didn’t have any damage from the storm, but we did lose a lot of product which was difficult having only been open for about six weeks at that point,” said Clopton.
 
Newly added items on the breakfast menu include a biscuit sandwich with bacon, egg and smoked Gouda, multigrain toasts with avocado or ricotta and honey, breakfast tacos and a butternut squash, leeks and ricotta quiche. Breakfast items are available all day.
 
Lunch items include a white bean and ham soup, grilled cheese with cheddar and smoked Gouda, a ham and Gruyere sandwich and egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches. Customers can expect to see even more soups and sandwiches in the coming months. Clopton and her staff bake all of the breads used for the sandwiches in house, and occasionally make extra loaves to sell at the counter.
 
As for baked goods, Clopton keeps the dessert counter stocked with fan favorites such as her chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, coffee cake and vegan zucchini bread. She looks forward to expanding the vegan offerings and rolling out some holiday treats as well. Clopton is currently working on a menu that will allow customers to place orders for items such as holiday pies and cookies, and will soon partner with on-line delivery service Grubhub for local delivery.
 
Love, Lydia, 1502 S. Third St., serves a variety of hot and cold coffees and teas as well as fresh lemonades, bottled drinks and Panacea kombucha on draft.
 
The cafe is is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Saturday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.
 
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