The Other Side of Summer

The off-season on Hatteras Island does not just mean fewer crowds, thinner traffic and a slower pace.

At their two Avon restaurants, The Froggy Dog Restaurant & Pub and Muffins and Scones, mother-son owners Julia Taft and Blake Taft know that the off-season also signals the return of the locals.

“One day I look around and the pub is filled with familiar faces we hadn’t seen as much during the busy summer months,” Julia says. “They wait for things to slow down a little and then they’re back.”

It’s the other side of summer on Hatteras Island, a season that visitors who venture here in fall and winter love just as much as the locals.

The Tafts are committed to keeping their businesses open year-round to serve anyone who’s here in the quiet season. The Froggy Dog and Muffins and Scones are proof that Hatteras Island doesn’t shut down in the off-season, it just changes gears.

Mornings in Avon at Muffins and Scones

On a chilly island morning the smell of coffee and freshly baked pastries and bagels is particularly inviting, and here it starts at 6 a.m. Muffins and Scones is known for muffins and scones, of course, including favorites like blueberry muffins and brown sugar cinnamon scones. But the bakery cases are also filled with just-baked turnovers, cinnamon rolls, cookies, pastries, cupcakes, macarons, pies and cake slices – a wide selection not just in summer but all year round.

There’s a full beverage menu too, with cold-pressed juices, hand crafted lattes, cappuccinos, cold brews and drip coffee, plus an espresso blend roasted especially for Muffins and Scones.

The savory side of the menu is equally suited to cooler days. Muffins and Scones offers 17 varieties of fresh-baked New York-style bagels along with build-your-own sandwiches and specialties like the Nessie with lox and cream cheese, the Atlantic with prosciutto and smoked Gouda and the OBX Caprese.

After you’ve lingered a bit in their comfortable space, be sure to take home soups, quiches, pies and other grab-and-go options for dinner.

Pie Season

One season when Muffins and Scones truly shines is pie season. November kicks off one of the bakery’s busiest and most beloved traditions.

Muffins and Scones offers 15 varieties of pie, and during Thanksgiving week the staff typically bakes more than 1,000 of them. Among the favorites are the signature apple pie, packed with Granny Smith apples and the bakery’s secret blend of seasonings, plus pumpkin cheesecake, sweet potato pie, Key lime pie, cherry pie, coconut cream pie and so many more.

Around the Table at The Froggy Dog

A little farther north in Avon, the same seasonal shift happens at The Froggy Dog.

The landmark restaurant has been part of the Hatteras Island dining scene for more than 50 years. What began as a hot dog stand in the 1970s has grown into one of the island’s largest restaurants, but despite its size, the off-season experience feels intimate.

Julia and Blake have owned The Froggy Dog since 2019, updating and renovating the restaurant while preserving the easygoing personality that has made it an Avon institution. They keep the restaurant open all year round, offering a warm and welcoming place for locals and the island’s off-season visitors to enjoy lunch, dinner and brunch.

The menu ranges from burgers, sandwiches, salads and seafood at lunch to substantial dinner entrees like The Mutiny seafood platter, Surf & Turf, Filet Oscar, pastas, miso-glazed Atlantic salmon and Mediterranean beef kabobs. Comfort food has its place here too, with specials like soup, meatloaf and Southern fried chicken.

Brunch is popular year-round, but in fall and winter it takes on a cozy personality. The menu changes with the season, bringing cozy flavors like pumpkin spice pancakes and gingerbread-stuffed French toast alongside staples including Benedicts, omelets, breakfast burritos, buttermilk pancakes, shrimp and grits, seafood enchiladas and old-fashioned biscuits and gravy.

In the evenings, The Froggy Dog offers another reason to settle in.

Blake is a certified sommelier who has built a wine cellar with more than 100 selections, creating one of the more extensive wine offerings on the Outer Banks. But there is nothing stuffy about the approach. Wine here is meant to be enjoyed, explored and shared.

Dig In to Off-Season Dining

The off-season offers a chance to experience a different side of Hatteras Island.

At Muffins and Scones, that might mean settling into a comfy chair with a hot latte and a fresh-baked scone, picking up soup for dinner or carrying home apple pie for Thanksgiving.

At The Froggy Dog, it might mean Sunday brunch, a glass of wine in the pub, fried chicken on Friday night and staying longer than expected after spotting friends across the room.

 

(252) 986-5109
muffinsandscones.com
40126 NC Hwy 12, Avon 

 

(252) 995-5550
froggydog.com
40050 NC Hwy 12, Avon