Café Sophie (7940 Airpark Road, Gaithersburg) is a European-style café with Scandinavian influences located at the Montgomery County Airpark. Owners Sandy and Tom named the café after their beloved dog Sophie, who occasionally greets customers.
Sandy’s connection to the airpark runs deep. Her grandfather and father, Bill and Jim Richardson, built and operated the facility in 1960. “I used to come to the airpark with my dad on weekends. It was always fun to be in the air with my father flying,” she shares. Sandy, a pilot herself, later met Tom, a professional pilot from Bergen, Norway, who flew private charters throughout the United States and Europe. Tom eventually landed at the Airpark and, as he puts it, “never took off.”
The café will also be featured on an upcoming episode of the WETA PBS television program “Signature Dish,” which highlights standout menu items and the stories behind restaurants across the DMV region…