Southern-Inspired Dixie Picnic Will Open in Center City

Being a Florida-raised girl myself, I can tell you that there’s nothing like Southern cooking. The cuisine of the South is delicious, comforting, and enjoyed well beyond the confines of the states below the Mason Dixon line. People everywhere love this kind of food, and that’s the thinking behind Dixie Picnic, a family-owned restaurant that is expanding into Center City for the first time. The eatery’s first location was in Malvern, on the Main Line in the Lincoln Court Shopping Center. That location sold breakfast and lunch. It was just announced that the Center City outlet will open at 1306 Chestnut St. in Midtown Village, at the former location of Scratch Biscuits. According to founder partner and executive chef Tracey Deschaine, an opening date is still TBD, but Dixie Picnic is coming “in the near future.”

Dixie Picnic’s Southern-inspired lunches are based on good, old-fashioned Southern picnics.

Deschaine says that Dixie Picnic derives its name from the picnics that her Southern relatives used to take her on when she was young. Deschaine, along with husband Dean Prescott, is an expert in the fast-casual lunch market of sandwiches, salads, and box lunches. The Center City outlet of Dixie Kitchen will serve only lunch, between 10 am and 4 pm.

A specialty of the restaurant is the “Upcake” – an upside-down cupcake iced on the bottom (which is the top) and the sides. I saw a picture of one and I wanted to crawl through my computer screen and eat about twelve of them. The Upcakes have somewhat of a following, and their seasonal flavors are hot sellers. With fall coming, flavors like brown butter apple, blueberry pancake, and caramel apple are about to arrive on the scene.

Dixie Picnic will offer online ordering, with a dedicated pickup window to ensure that those on lunch breaks get in and out quickly. A boxed lunch comes with a sandwich, a side, a deviled egg, and an Upcake.