The Market at Herban can do a whole lot of tasty
By Luke Frazier
The Island News
If you’re strolling west from downtown Beaufort along Bay Street for a half mile or so and can pull your gaze from the magnetically stunning river views, you’ll see Herban Café sitting on the corner off to the right.
Not being in the populous business district, it has functioned since 2019 as a sort of classy outpost for gourmet coffee, vegan and other breakfast and lunch fare, and a handy meeting spot for a certain kind of crowd that demands access to real croissants and other sweet and savory fare. In pleasant weather there is usually a patio crowd that includes a few pooches.
Herban Café was sold last year and the new owners, Erich and Trish Fuldner, started running it in November. They are veterans of the restaurant and catering scene in Washington D.C., where they ran multiple enterprises, including what Erich claims was the first authentic New York Deli in the city.
Erich grew up in San Francisco and earned a finance degree years ago but decided he didn’t want to sit at a desk his whole life. Trish was born in New Orleans, went to school in Mississippi and ended up in D.C., where she met her future husband over a turkey sandwich.
After a couple of months to catch their breath, Erich and Trish initiated changes that now include a second entrance around the back that offers a portal into the newly christened “The Market At Herban.” It’s a whole other world of tastes and smells that seek to satisfy not only those same discerning Herban Café acolytes but attract a new crowd too.
The “new crowd” will be those interested in a bonafide, non-grocery store bakery that produces sourdough loaves, baguettes, focaccia, multigrain and specialty breads that the owners boast are “made with intention.” These customers might also delight in the variety of cakes, scones, and treats that await them in what is currently the only freestanding bakery business in Beaufort.
Erich and Trish have an effortless way between them that was probably developed through years facing the fast paced, high-pressure, and low-profit margin restaurant business together. As far as their vision for the place Erich points out that, “Any restauranter has this idea of what they want [but] you have to let the customer driv e…” and Trish finishes the thought, “…it’s what they want, not necessarily what you want.”
Trish says she likes talking to the customers, either repeat visitors or fresh faces. One thing that she absolutely loves is when people gush upon first discovering the Market, like a recent woman from the area.
“She just kept saying ‘thank you so much, somebody gets it, this is what we need here.’ It just makes you feel so good when someone actually thanks you for the work you’re doing, when someone is so genuinely thrilled to find you.”
The Fuldners themselves were thrilled to find Beaufort and make their home in what they consider such a beautiful place. Instead of sitting in an office, Erich arrives in the early morning and watches the sun rise over the Beaufort River.
As Erich enjoys the view, the two main bakery employees are busy creating deliciousness. Cowan Miller is the baker and presents in a humble and attentive fashion, which has to be good for someone in the precise craft of baking. Cowan says he has been a home baker throughout his life and doing it professionally for six years, most recently in Savannah. He is emphatic about what he enjoys about his work.
“I’m really into the science of how it works, why it works, and why it makes [baked items] taste good. The instant gratification is [also] fairly good, you get to see your work pretty immediately.”
Or, he says, figuring out what happened when it tastes bad.
Cowan says he has kept the same sourdough levain, or “starter,” going for five years, which yields quality results.
“You feed it and maintain it, kind of like keeping a pet,” he explains, “You take care of it but if you neglect it it’s going to show up in your work.”
Working alongside Cowan is pastry chef Olga Castronova, with a bright smile and demure manner. Originally from Chattanooga, Tenn., she has been a baker for friends and family for 10 years and a professional for three. She moved to Beaufort in February and has a simple explanation about why she loves what she does.
“The best thing is getting to be part of people’s celebrations, everybody needs desert for a celebration, and I love getting to provide that.” Olga says it doesn’t hurt that she also has a sweet tooth herself and likes to discover new recipes to make, including while traveling. She references one example in the nearby bakery case.
“The Greek orange cake is something that I tried in Greece on my honeymoon and I brought that recipe back … so, incorporating stories from life into what I do is really fun.”
What is also fun is that before you even get to the fully stocked bakery case you’ll pass by artist Amy Whitehouse’s lovely Lowcountry watercolor scenes, 50-pound sacks of flour, shelves filled with jars of lemon marmalade, candied jalapenos, pickled peaches, and southern caviar, as well as refrigerated cases of premade pastas like garlic and chive gnocchi and Cacio e pepe tagliolini. It all leads to Trish’s declaration to the community.
“We want to see you, introduce ourselves, and show you what we can do!”
If a recently consumed baguette and blueberry scone (and a couple of bites of a lemon square) are any indication, The Market at Herban can do a whole lot of tasty.
Luke Frazier is a writer and award winning media producer who moved to the Lowcountry in 2024. He runs NOW Communications and can be reached at nowandfuturecomms@gmail.com.
