Daytrip to England, via A Little Brit of Heaven

If Wimbledon and the weather have put you in the mood for all things English, a quick trip across the county might do the trick.

On April 29, 2011, England came to Union Avenue in Belleville. That’s right, Dornelle Robinson opened the doors to her dream: A Little Brit of Heaven, which serves the finest teas, pastries and other British cuisine.

“This,” says her husband Dean, “is Dornelle’s passion. I’m just along for the ride.”

Dornelle Robinson hails from Manchester, England, and she, Dean and their three children have resided in Belleville for 7 years. But, as Dean says, “She lives here, but still lives in England.”

And how did they land here? It’s an interesting story. First, they tried to feed their fish and chips passion by traveling from Queens, New York to a Kearny establishment. “We spent a fortune in food and tolls,” recalls Dean. “And Dornelle always wanted to open a restaurant. Lots of times, we would go out and spend, and the service and food was poor.”

But first came a move to Belleville, just up the road from A Little Brit of Heaven, and Dornelle needed a chiropractor. One was housed right down the road from their home: at 564 Union Avenue, the current spot of their 32-seat eatery. She became a patient, but then Dornelle, a social worker and special needs educator by trade, learned that the chiropractor needed a receptionist.  She put herself in the running.“In the kitchen (which was then the chiropractor’s office), he asked me where I’d like to be on 10 years. I told him opening a British tea shop my own business.”

She got the job, but then the chiropractor closed, but Dornelle was drawn again to the location. “I would walk down to the corner, and say to myself, ‘Why don’t you just try?’ Sometimes life is jumping off a mountain, hoping you have wings.”

She had additional flight instruction and support from Dean, who was and is in her corner every step of the way. “I told her, ‘Embrace your culinary skills. People will come from afar. We now see about five new people every day.”

Dornelle Robinson prepares, yes, authentic British cuisine, but she’s proud enough to claim it’s different and better. She also believes she’s “feeding” what was a lack in the area. “There was nothing here like this. The area was missing out. Folks wanted to walk to a place and have a cup of tea, read the paper – somewhere you feel at home.”

The four rooms whitewashed and trimmed in blue and red, the tables set with lovely British tea sets. The menu includes a full English breakfast of eggs, English bacon, sausage, baked beans, fried tomatoes, toast and tea, a choice of oats, bran, cornmeal or banana porridge, and variety of toasted breakfast sandwiches. Three different teas are offered: afternoon, high and Victorian, as well as sandwiches (very popular is the chicken and cranberry special) and soups. Dornelle Robinson also offers favorite snacks straight from Great Britain from scones to tasty flavored chips, shakes and smoothies (“We’re getting a lot of young people – we serve cakes, shakes and fries”), and some pretty nifty dishes like steak and ale pie, MCR Curry Mile Special, Bangers & Mash, and much more. Vegetarians can also be accommodated.

Overall, Belleville so far has embraced the tiny eatery run by this very nice couple, who are parents to three children: two daughters, 25-year-old Danei, an architect; 18-year-old Shalome, a student at Bergen County College and sometimes server at A Little Brit of Heaven; and 14-year-old son T.J.

“We,” says Dean, “worked on this every day for a year. We got no loans; it was our blood, sweat and tears.”

Dornelle is often visited now by people tapping her knowledge of Britain. She laughs. “They didn’t realize how much knowledge I have.” She then pauses. “I had to travel where others feared to tred, believe in myself. We’re all here for a purpose: to teach one another. Nothing just happened. We live in a big world, but at the end of the day we are only people.”

“I’m open to learning, and I want to impart learning.”

A Little Brit of heaven, 564 Union Avenue, (973) 302-7179, Belleville. Open seven days