Covington is a small town, and changes in the landscape are exciting. Especially on a main drag, when the progress of something burgeoning can be monitored. Such was the case last summer when the empty space next to the Goodyear Tire Service Center on Boston St. started to look really cool. The outside of the building had a rusty metal sign with the word Autonomy cut out. It seemed an odd name for a restaurant, but also a fun play on words, considering its adjacency to Goodyear.
And then it was open. Rather spartan inside, It was obviously a place featuring baked goods. Except that often there were no baked goods to purchase. These two nice guys who had worked in Napa Valley together seemed plagued from the beginning by a lack of staff. The affable front of the house partner, Saunders, definitely got the better end of the deal at the register and French Truck coffee machine. His partner Jeff was not back-of-the-house enough, and was always slavishly kneading dough with a sort of panicked look customers should not see. Cases were often empty, or maybe it was just the items we desired. We wanted to eat breakfast here, but the menu was extremely limited, and hours were odd and the rules governing them odder. The small baguettes were delicious, the croissants textbook flaky, and everything else we tried was good. There was just never enough food or people here. And the sense that this had possibilities but was all wrong just hovered in the air. Their inevitable fate happened this week on May 25th, proving that sometimes you can be excellent at what you do, (and they were), but someone should have a sense of business. This is pitiable because the gorgeous Southern Hotel in downtown Covington is bringing in regular street traffic, and a shop with delectable pastries would be a welcome addition to the scene. We will miss the pastries, but also the promise of Autonomy.
Autonomy
705 East Boston St.
Covington 70433
