DOM's Coffee, Cheese, and Now...Creamery: All The Good Stuff in Avon

Photography c/o Dom’s

Nestled in the Connecticuty-quaint town of Avon, an area known for its New England beauty, historic homes, and the well-known Avon Old Farms School, sits the quietly chic and welcoming Dom's Coffee. But wait, there's also Dom's Cheese. And now, Dom's Creamery right next door. Avon may be steeped in history, but it keeps evolving, as does Dom's. 

Dom’s Coffee opened their doors in 2015, the brainchild of Lithuanian couple Asta and Andrius Plankis and sweetly named for their son Dominic. What began as a place for the community to take time to sit and enjoy a great cup of coffee, not just grab-and-go-and-swill-it-in-your-car, has now become a beloved spot in town. Even now, the success of the business can be attributed to family ties; Andrius’ mom, Gitana, is there everyday and constantly on the go behind the scenes (shout out to Mom!). It is this sense of the familial that permeates the cafe to make it so welcoming. With their European flair and attention to detail, Dom’s Coffee seamlessly blends the CT aesthetic with the European, feeling all at once new but also comfortable and homey. Light and bright walls, intentional and un-cluttered decor make his space both interesting and calming. Dom’s serves a full range of coffee drinks made with beans from J. Rene Coffee Roasters (West Hartford), with inventive specials to get you in seasonal moods. To take a space next to your mug, choose a fabulously tempting pastry which are all made fresh in-house, each day. During the week they also now offer wines and beer, as a respite from the day or a deviation-from-the-norm nightcap. This winter, you can also hunker down with their cheese flights, wine, and Espresso Martinis on cozy evenings. I say bring on the cold, then!

To take a space next to your mug, choose one of their fabulously tempting pastries, which are all made fresh in-house, each day. A newer offering, they now have a wine and beer Happy Hour, as a respite from the day or a deviation-from-the-norm nightcap. This winter, you can also hunker down with their cheese flights, wine, and Espresso Martinis on cozy evenings. I say bring on the cold!

Something was mentioned about cheese?…well, yes, hang a quick right around the coffee counter in Dom's Coffee and you are deliciously confronted with a case of imported cheeses and a wall of gourmet jams, jellies, and crackers. Pretty much, they have everything you need to construct a kicking charcuterie board this season. As Dom's likes to say, they are one-stop-shopping. Indeed they are and what a fabulous kind of shopping it is. If you haven't tried Beemster XO cheese, an extra-aged Gouda from Holland, blaze a trail to Dom's fast. It's nutty and sharp with hints of toasted nuts and caramel-a top seller of theirs. On one of my first visits to Dom's, they offered up a sample of their Alp Blossom cheese, which has now become one of my all-time favorites, as it is not only gorgeous but sweet with a nutty quality. The wheel is coated in a mix of dried alpine flowers and herbs, lending it a beautifully rustic yet elegant presentation. Your charcuterie board just got a facelift with these beauties.

But wait, just when you thought that coffee and cheese could satisfy you, take a few jaunty steps next door and enter the pastel confection that is the new Dom's Creamery. Opened this past May like a beautifully presented gift, Dom's continues to do what they do with coffee and cheese: offer classic products but with exceptional quality and delightful, modern twists. Matcha-swirl, Ube (a gorgeously purple yam) are just a few of the uber-creamy rotating flavors of soft serve. And take their best-selling ice cream, Charcoal. It's a startling deep gray hue-you can't help but be intrigued when you first see it. Gray ice cream? When you bite in, however, there are hints of chocolate and coconut. Fig and Parm (an ode to their Cheese shop, using their own Parmigiano Reggiano), Honey Latte, and PB & J are a few more of the inventive flavors for you to dip into, which are all made fresh in-house. I'm sensing a theme with the Dom's folks: Make it fresh, make it wonderful. Not in the mood for a cone-although did you know that New Englanders eat more ice cream than anyone else in the country? They have fresh, warm crepes, both sweet and savory: Berry Cheesecake, Lemon Drop, Caprese, and Cuban to name just a few of these folded wonders. They also create festive ice cream cakes, and stock a freezer case of pints to go, sporting the words "Take Me Home". You can hear it beckoning to you like some sugary siren. Twist our arms, we will oblige. As with the Fig and Parm cheese, their coffee ice cream is a nod to the coffee side of Dom's. A perfect scoop of this may be the most intense and luxurious coffee ice cream you've had in quite a while and it is not to be missed. 

A little catering note: to make your party planning easier and more delicious, hit up Dom's for catering your next gathering. They have Insta-worthy cheese or pastry platters or those stacked with Caprese salad, Croissant sandwiches, or vibrant fruits and veggies. 

Dom's is a place where you can go alone and enjoy self-care time in calm surroundings with delicious food, or as a place to enjoy with others. They are a "home for everyone", in the convivial words of Asta and Andrius, where customers are treated like good friends and family and where every detail matters. We need more of this in the world, don't we?