Our Story

The Cottage Cafe has been a dream come true for Brent Poffenberger and Tom Neville. Brent and Tom went to Shepherd College in West Virginia and majored in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Brent did his food service externship at a restaurant in Ocean City between his junior and senior years in college and immediately knew it was his goal to own a restaurant at the beach.

After graduating from college, Brent started working for a family restaurant chain, trying to learn all he could about restaurant management. At the same time, he was talking to his good friend and fraternity brother Tom, who was still in college, about the possibility of going into business together. Their dream was realized in June of 1993 when The Cottage Cafe opened for business.

The Cottage Cafe’s success can be attributed to a great group of hard-working team members and wonderful appreciative guests. It is the Cottage Cafe’s promise to bring you extraordinary service and high-quality food in a pleasant dining atmosphere. As the old beach cottages of yesteryear bring back many pleasant memories of sharing food, spirits, and good times with family and friends, it is our hope that you will have a great experience in our “Cottage” and want to come back and dine again.