April Moon Harper & Belinda Raab

Sunny Point Café has seen West Asheville evolve from a rough and tumble outskirt to a culinary destination. In 2003, owners April Moon Harper and Belinda Raab saw potential in a neglected building on Haywood Road and imagined a quiet bakery and café. Today, the full-service restaurant attracts crowds at all hours of the day.

“We envisioned it as very small at first, but of course it grew,” April explains. “It’s quite a different vision from what we had originally.” 

Visitors flock from all corners of the country, and West Asheville regulars are cherished, too. April and Belinda haven’t lost sight of the customers who sustained their business during the early days. “There are still people who come in who we saw when we first opened. We know what they like to order,” April says. “It’s a true neighborhood business.”

Sunny Point’s brunch prowess is legendary. A drive through West Asheville on a weekend morning reveals groups of visitors chatting in the café’s garden gathering space. It’s hard to resist Sunny Point’s sugar-topped biscuits and French toast specials.

“Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day,” April exclaims. “Making people feel good first thing in the morning is really gratifying.”

April points to the restaurant’s signature huevos rancheros as one of her family’s favorite dishes. Belinda and April are business partners as well as a mother/daughter team who use their family dynamics to drive a thriving business.

“The core of the values of the business are sound because of family,” explains April. “We share that same origin of what we want to see happen and where it comes from.”