Darcy Heine, owner of Fiddlehead Fern Café, is a 4th generation lifelong resident of the Shaw Neighborhood. Her passion for the community is what the Café has been built upon. Darcy has a background in both photography and restaurant management. In 2012, after finishing her BFA and managing a small neighborhood café in Lafayette Square, she realized how important it is for a neighborhood to have a place for the community to gather.
After gaining management experience through a local enterprise, roasting with Savannah, Georgia-based PERC coffee roasters, and finding inspiration as a photographer for the Missouri Botanical Garden, she brought her own vision to life and opened Fiddlehead Fern Café.
Traditional banks and lenders don’t typically lend to start-up businesses, and Darcy was looking for funds to use for a build out of her restaurant, equipment and furniture, and working capital. After getting rejected by traditional funding sources, Darcy found Justine PETERSEN. It allowed them to create the space she had always envisioned. Additionally, she was able to get the proper equipment to run the business efficiently and effectively, and have working capital to get them through the first few months of having a new business open.
Built on the site of a long abandoned gas station, Fiddlehead Fern Café is committed to both the physical and social revitalization of our community. What was once an empty corner in the middle of a residential neighborhood is now a welcoming and lively place for people to gather. Whether working, studying, visiting with friends and family, meeting neighbors, or enjoying live music, there is a place for all at Fiddlehead Fern Café. Justine PETERSEN is proud to have helped to put such a strong pillar in this community and can’t wait to wait them continue to succeed.