• Local Produce
  • Buy Local
  • Local Seafood
  • Local Food
  • Local Music
  • Local Art
  • Local Churches

CAPE CHARLES MIRROR

Reflections on Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore

  • Local Services
  • Local Rentals
  • Local Employment
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
  • PODCAST
  • Pets
  • Contact Us

Tim’s Place in Cape Charles is Now Open

June 17, 2018 by Wayne Creed 9 Comments

In Cape Charles, a stroll up and down Mason Avenue will bring you in contact with businesses that are either trying too hard to be Shore or are grappling with being a business on the Shore. At Tim’s Place, the latest eatery to enter the Cape Charles culinary scene, as soon as you walk through the door, you feel like you are finally back home on the real Shore.

Smitty’s Granddad’s outboard (Mirror Photo)

The place is light and airy, with a real sense of beachy Shore casual. There’s a reason for this. The two buildings that make up the bistro and convenience store have long been in the family of owner William “Smitty” Smith for many years.

Inside, the walls are decorated with vintage photographs and postcards of old Cape Charles which came from Smith’s grandmother’s scrapbooks. Near the office is the restored outboard engine that belonged to Smitty’s granddad, a motor that powered them up and around the creeks when Smitty was a youngster.

“My family has been working around this block for many, many years…Tim’s is actually where my dad kept his shop,” Smitty told the Mirror. “For me, it was really neat to be able to go through my grandmother’s albums and find all these old pictures we have on the wall…it brings back lots of memories.”

It is nice to finally see a business with real ties to the community, to our history.

The ambiance is important, but none of that matters if the cuisine doesn’t hit the mark. Tim’s Place is right on point.

Many of us have been enjoying chef Tim Abraham’s cooking for thirty years or more and were thrilled to hear he was bringing his style to Cape Charles.

From breakfast to a late dinner (they are open 7-9), everything on the menu is absolutely delicious. While so many places try to raise short order fare to a higher level (and higher prices), Tim’s wants to bring it back down to earth.

Tim’s offers a wide range of breakfast options at very affordable prices. From sandwiches to entrees, there is something for everyone, even us Scrapple aficionados.  My favorite is the Country Breakfast, with two eggs, bacon, sausage, ham or scrapple, three pancakes, homefries and grits for only $6.99—no better way to get ready for a day on the water.

For lunch, the sky is the limit at Tim’s Place. The sandwich menu had everything from crab cakes, to grilled cheese, flounder, reubans, fresh oyster, pulled pork, ham and cheese—you name it. The sandwiches will run you around six bucks, but you can get an all-beef hot dog for just $1.99.

Tim and Smitty hanging out on the retro seats from the old laundromat. We’ve all sat on them one time or another (Mirror Photo)

Nobody rocks a sub like Tim’s. A 12” sub will run you around eight dollars, the best deal in town. The Philly cheesesteak is brilliant, but if you really want to throw down, the bacon cheddar or Memphis barbecue will win you over for sure.

Tim’s is also the place if you really like to do fries. If you like cheese, chili cheese or gravy fries, they have just what you need.

The dinner options have something for everyone. I love my baskets, and they have butterfly shrimp, scallops, clam strips or good old fish and chips. If you are a chicken wing or nugget person, Tim’s will set you up. The baskets are a great deal, 6 to 10 bucks.

If you really want a sit-down meal, the dinner menu offers scallops, crab cakes, softshell crabs, fried flounder and oysters, veal cutlet, chicken fried steak and a delectable seafood platter. Most entrees run about fifteen bucks, the most expensive is the massive seafood platter for only $21.

Tim’s rocks and rolls fried chicken too (best in town), and for the hungry family or picnic, the Family Meal will set you up with 8 pieces, 4 rolls and 2 large sides, or 16 pieces, 8 rolls, and 2 sides.

Occupying the corner of Peach and Mason Avenue, we hardily recommend Tim’s Place, a real piece of the Shore right here in downtown Cape Charles.

The philosophy of Tim’s Place (Mirror Photo)

An enlarged postcard from Smitty’s grandmother’s album (Mirror Photo)

The open, airy and laidback Shore feel of Tim’s (Mirror Photo)

Filed Under: Bottom, News

Comments

  1. Richard L. Hubbard says

    June 17, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    Best of luck Tim!!

    Reply
  2. Peach Street Books says

    June 17, 2018 at 1:39 pm

    Welcome to the neighborhood!

    Reply
  3. Hope says

    June 18, 2018 at 11:41 am

    Sounds great!

    Reply
  4. Mike Kuzma, Jr. says

    June 18, 2018 at 2:58 pm

    Food sounds great, I know where I’ll stop on my next trip south.

    Reply
  5. Pam W says

    June 19, 2018 at 1:19 pm

    If you want the best fried chicken in town go to Tim’s Place.

    Reply
  6. David Cowan says

    July 9, 2018 at 1:49 pm

    We were down over the last weekend, and after reading all the glowing reports, decided to give Tim’s a try.

    On Saturday we got there shortly before 11, and decided to wait till lunch was available. My wife and I both ordered the drum plate.

    Well, it was OK, but way over-cooked. We shared our concern with the server (forgot her name), and she said she would share the info.

    Thinking this must have been a one-time issue, we went back for dinner. We got there shortly before closing, but our server, Jasmine, was very gracious and made us welcome.

    I ordered soft crab, my wife ordered the fried oyster dinner.

    It was worse than lunch. My crab was edible, but not very good. My wife’s oysters were heavily breaded and cooked to death. Both tasted like they had been cooked in old oil.

    We shared our disappointment with Jasmine and she was very concerned.

    I do want to note that the server staff at both lunch and dinner were excellent. We tipped both 20%, as it was not their fault the food was not good.

    Needless to say, we were both very disappointed. We were excited that a new restaurant was opening in Cape Charles, and had such high hopes for Tim’s.

    I doubt we will return, unless we get some reviews that will convince us otherwise. But with so many excellent restaurants in town, we will need a really good reason.

    Just to make sure that we hadn’t forgotten what fried oysters are supposed to taste like, on the way home, we stopped at Ocean Odyssey in Cambridge. They know how to fix fried oysters!

    Reply
  7. CJ says

    July 28, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    French fries were cold and mushy. Burger was over cooked. Burger bun was stale and crumbled apart when I picked it up.

    Reply
  8. A friend says

    July 29, 2018 at 1:01 pm

    Took my daughter there for breakfast two weeks ago. The food was good, the prices were reasonable, but the service was awful! It took 20-25 minutes just to get our morning coffee… Tim needs to review/revise his staffing and management techniques.

    Reply
  9. David Gay says

    July 29, 2018 at 1:35 pm

    Have eaten their twice and the fried chicken was excellent. Will try some of the other dishes in the future. Wait staff was excellent. Price is reasonable.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to David Gay Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Join the Conversation!

Send letters, opinion, goings on or photos to capecharlesmirror@gmail.com

Mirrors

Recent Comments

  • Gene Kelly on Gov. Ralph Northam loosens some Covid Restrictions
  • Paul Plante on Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • Stuart Bell on Judge has dismissed a $6 million lawsuit against the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel
  • LuckyVaGirl on Citizen Points out Major Flaws in utility Sale
  • Paul Plante on Citizen Points out Major Flaws in utility Sale
  • Sara on War Pigs: Biden, Democrats Bomb Civilian Targets in Syria
  • Sara on Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • Paul Plante on Op-Ed: To Heal the Nation, Biden Must Apologize
  • Paul Plante on Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • Paul Plante on Op-Ed: To Heal the Nation, Biden Must Apologize
  • Paul Plante on Opinion: Making it Up as they Go
  • Emily Dickenson on Town Council moves forward to investigate sale of utilities
  • Emily Dickenson on Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • don green on Vandalism, Dog Poop is taking a toll on Cape Charles Central Park
  • Paul Plante on Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • Paul Plante on Judge has dismissed a $6 million lawsuit against the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel
  • Slide Easy on Judge has dismissed a $6 million lawsuit against the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel
  • Renee on Gov. Ralph Northam loosens some Covid Restrictions
  • Bruce Gittinger on Black History Month: Amazon Drops Clarence Thomas documentary…during BHM?
  • Paul Plante on How many coal-fired power plants are there in the world today?

Trending Now

  • February 2021 Rainfall takes a toll on the Shore
  • Complaints and Ilegal Construction in Cape Charles
  • Citizen Points out Major Flaws in utility Sale
  • Cape Charles: current FOIA Request Looks at Coastal Precast Concrete Plant
  • Judge has dismissed a $6 million lawsuit against the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel
  • Gov. Ralph Northam loosens some Covid Restrictions
  • Congresswoman Luria Votes for Equality Act
  • Black History Month: Amazon Drops Clarence Thomas documentary...during BHM?
  • List Of Clinton Associates Who Allegedly Died Mysteriously Or Committed Suicide Before Testimony
  • Town Council moves forward to investigate sale of utilities

Subscribe to CC Mirror via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in