Is there anything more fun than playing with seasonal, local foods to create mouth watering culinary treats? Executive Chef Meagan Thompson doesn’t think so. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Denver with a degree in Culinary Arts, Meagan quickly established herself as an imaginative Chef with a penchant for creating nutritionally forward, locally sourced recipes that appeal to a range of appetites. As Executive Chef in a French Bistro and then a craft brewery/restaurant, Meagan has created dozens of innovative dishes using foods local to the area. Meagan can’t wait to work with local seafood vendors (one of the food groups she couldn’t source locally in Denver) and establishing relationships with the local farmers. We should tell you up front, she LOVES breakfast. So, you may want to put brunch at the Lake Anne Coffee House on your to-do list.

Meagan is also passionate about having a green restaurant — composting food, reusing and recycling as much as possible and ensuring everything in the shop is as environmentally friendly as possible.

Meagan grew up in Reston, attending Langston Hughes Middle School and South Lakes High School. After graduating with a B.S. in Psychology from George Mason University, she moved to Colorado. It was there she discovered her passion for cooking and decided to go to culinary school. We are glad she did.

“Be the change you want to see.” Eve Thompson lives, works and plays at Lake Anne Village Center. As the founder of the Friends of Lake Anne, she has been a tireless advocate for revitalizing this historic landmark. She runs the Reston Market, a high-end craft market that runs alongside the Reston Farmers Market and uses the proceeds to maintain the public areas of the Plaza, such as the colorful umbrellas along at the benches on the dock, additional planters and flowers. The market proceeds also help fund a music program that includes the annual Jazz and Blues Festival and the annual Ukulele Festivals.

When the old Lake Anne Coffee Shop went up for sale, she saw the opportunity to create a community gathering spot that would attract not only Lake Anne locals, but any coffee or wine lover who wanted to support a local business AND connect with amazing people. She also saw the opportunity to realize a dream of creating a family business that could capitalize on the experience of two of her daughters — a seasoned restaurant manager and a creative, local-foods-obsessed chef. The result is truly a labor of love.

“It’s tough to be the only guy, but I love it,” Rick Thompson can’t think of anything better than working alongside his wife and daughters. Rick generally stays behind the scenes, doing the vital things that don’t make great photos (like keeping the books straight and loading gallons of milk in inclement weather conditions). No, you won’t notice what he’s doing to make the coffee house thrive, but you can bet he is working tirelessly to realize this dream. For example: He is on “stand by” during hours of operation, ready to swoop in on a moment’s notice and save the day with hefty deliveries of Reston’s finest ice.

What you will notice is that he is often walking coffee house mascot/French bulldog extraordinaire Scout around the plaza— Scout has an active social calendar.

Andy: “Wine expert sounds so dramatic and I’m bashful, but that works.” Andy has worked in the restaurant industry for more than ten years, buying wine and acting as sommelier for six of those years. For the last four years, he has worked in distribution, representing wines from all over the world.

While Andy won’t be working in the wine bar, we will all benefit from his broad experience. And since his lovely wife will be there all the time, we expect that he will drop by occasionally to see her.