When Doreen

and Jorg Schatte opened City Cafe in downtown Fayetteville nearly three

years ago, their goal was to bring Fayette County a unique dining choice

that ordinarily would only be found some 30 miles to the north in Atlanta.

Many of their customers think they have succeeded.

"A lot

of people have told us we brought Buckhead to the south side," said

Doreen. "That's what we've tried to do something different for this

area, a European flair, so they don't have to drive so far to get it."

The Schattes

operated a bakery in Riverdale for five years before opening City Cafe

in September of 1998. They came to the United States from Germany more

than a decade ago, so it's no surprise that the desserts and baked goods

at City Cafe would be held in high regard.

All of the

food served here is made on the premises, and in addition to the desserts,

there is a wide variety of lunch and dinner dishes to choose from, German

and otherwise.

City Cafe has

daily specials for lunch and dinner, and a $9.95 special every Wednesday

and Thursday from 5-6:30 p.m. The restaurant is open Monday and Tuesday

for lunch only and is closed Sunday.

The Schattes

decided to open in Fayetteville because they already lived here and "saw

the potential," according to Doreen. They have been rewarded with

a number of repeat customers, many of whom come on a weekly basis and

some every more often than that.

One big draw

this time of year is the opportunity to eat outdoors, on the spacious

deck adjacent to Ga. Highway 85.

A large soup

and sandwich menu is available at lunch, along with some other entrees.

The Cafe Club on a pretzel roll, a German specialty, is a particular favorite,

Doreen said, and a recent addition to the lunch menu is the panzenalla

pizza salad.

Dinner features

a number of pasta and seafood dishes, as well as chicken, veal and steak.

The German entrees include Szegediner goulash stew, classic wiener Schnitzel

and cafe roasted pork loin.

The lunch and

dinner menus were updated within the past few weeks, under the direction

of executive chef Rusty Hickman and sous chef Bryant Arnold. "They're

excellent," said Doreen.

Coming soon

is a new dessert treat gelato ice cream, an Italian delicacy that will

be made with City Cafe's own recipes on the premises and sold out of an

authentic European ice cream cart.