Juneberry Table, Cleveland

It’s considered the most important meal of the day, but when it comes to breakfast, Karen Small loves how something as simple as scrambled eggs or a plate of pancakes can stir feelings of nostalgia and comfort.

“Breakfast has a soulful feeling. I just really love everything about it. I love coffee cake. I love biscuits,” she says. “I just love what breakfast is when breakfast is done well.”

The Cleveland chef previously owned the restaurant Flying Fig for 23 years, before closing it in 2022 to focus on two new ventures: a re-imagining of Flying Fig as Pearl Street Wine Market & Cafe and a breakfast-and-lunch spot called Juneberry Table. The restaurant, which opened in April 2022, is named after the blueberry-like fruit that’s abundant in Ohio and plays into Small’s inspiration for the place — the decade she spent living in southern Ohio.

“The food there had an Appalachian bent to it with cornmeal, biscuits and regional goodies like sorghum,” she explains.

That type of cuisine also influenced Small’s culinary career. She has long supported local farms, and Juneberry Table’s menu is based around ingredients from Ohio purveyors such as Weaver’s Truck Patch in Fredericksburg and Rittman Orchards in Doylestown.



Whether you visit for breakfast or lunch, be sure to start with the Cheddar & Chive Biscuit with its laminated layers of dough, cheddar and chives. Baked fresh every morning, the fluffy treat is served with house-made sorghum butter and a rotating lineup of jams. The Breakfast Sandwich features slices of bacon from Dee-Jay’s Custom Butchering in Fredericktown that have been glazed in sorghum molasses. The sandwich includes a folded cheddar egg and comeback sauce (Small describes her version of the Southern condiment as a tartar sauce mixed with a remoulade) and is served on a milk bun made by Cleveland pastry chef Nolan Tidwell. 

Although the menu and certain ingredients vary based on what is available, some dishes will remain constant, such as the Gravy & Biscuit. It features an earthy gravy made using product from Killbuck Valley Mushrooms and wilted greens from Ohio City Farms.

“It’s kind of a biscuit sandwich with scrambled eggs. And then the sausage gravy goes on top of the whole mess,” says Small.

You won’t find fussy, overly complicated dishes on Juneberry Table’s tightly curated menu. Even when the restaurant starts offering dinner service this summer, Small plans to keep her focus on this casual approach.

“I love fine dining, don’t get me wrong,” she says. “But at this point in my life, what I’m drawn to is a more relaxed approach to food. I want things to be comfortable. I want things to be delicious. But I want them to be simple at the same time.”

3900 Lorain Ave., Cleveland 44113, 216/331-0338, juneberrytable.com