‘Really something else.’ Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections opens in Warner Robins

At the new Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections in Warner Robins, everyone is mad as a hatter about “bringing life back into food.”

The Victorian-themed cafe and confectionary at 85 Ga. 247 across from Robins Air Force Base is brought to you by Stephanie Saunders and her daughters, Drake and Sage.

The way to bring life back into food is to make both the offerings and the setting exciting and thrilling, Stephanie Saunders said.

“Something that breaks up the monotony of the day,” she said. “Something that people look forward to doing again is going out to a cafe and getting something that is easy on the eyes, thrilling, tastes delicious, and the atmosphere goes along with that is that it’s not monochromatic. It is beautiful, it’s funky, it’s stylish and it’s unique.”

Step into whimsy at the Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections

The cafe and confectionery was inspired in part by the quirkiness and uniqueness found in the pages of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

The women transformed both the outside and inside of a former lounge, painting the outside shades of aqua blue and adding black awning and Victorian-style appliques.

The patio with its sparkly light blue cement includes a few Victorian style cafe tables, a bench and green shrubbery and flowers. A whimsical worm statue rests near the patio.

Step inside to a charming and fanciful decor of animal statues and animal head mounts wearing fanciful pastry-themed hats, a faux grandfather Victorian clock and fireplace, colorful cake chandeliers and delightful framed photos, including a duck in a raincoat carrying an umbrella entitled “Sarah Burnt Tart.”

Most of the decor is handmade by Saunders and her daughters such as the Victorian hats or embellished with handmade additions such as with the cake chandeliers. Her husband, Glen Saunders, who is active military at Robins AFB, made the tops of the tables and her sister, Sandy Overbaugh, did the frosting on the windows.

Stephanie Saunders has a passion for millinery, the design, creation and selling of hats. She also has experience in set dressing, the process of selecting and placing furnishings and props with a set.

Drake Saunders and Sage Saunders have worked together in the restaurant industry for a while with the goal of one day opening a cafe.

Lots of goodies and lunch options

Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections offers artisan sandwiches, baked goods, salads and soups, hand-crafted fizzes, teas, coffee, flavored popcorns, Ashby’s Sterling ice cream and more.

“We want an upscale food environment so everything, like our bread, doesn’t have conditioners or artificial colors or flavors,” Saunders said. “We try very hard to aim for a healthier option. We do have dairy free. We have gluten-free options, sugar-free options.”

Much of what’s offered is from family recipes such as the “Fat Cats,” old-fashioned cinnamon rolls covered in vanilla icing that Saunders is known for among family and friends.

A unique made-from-scratch baked good is an ice cream cone cake. The confetti flavor is homemade confetti cake inside a family-recipe pound cake that’s shaped around the cake like an ice cream cone with a generous topping of icing to create the ice cream effect and then topped off by a chocolate covered cherry dipped in confetti.

A twist on a Southern favorite is the “Mad Mac & Cheese,” which the menu describes as creamy white cheddar cavatappi pasta, loaded with pulled smoked brisket, cheddar jack, barbecue sauce and crispy jalapenos.

Among the artisan sandwiches is “The Mad Hat,” described on the menu as pulled smoked brisket, bleu cheese, barbecue aioli, red onions, greens, served on an artisan bun.

A vegetarian option is the Italia, described on the menu as artichokes, marinated tomatoes, mozzarella, greens, balsamic glaze, served on herbed focaccia.

The Count of Monte Cristo sandwich includes sliced smoked turkey, raspberry red pepper jam, cream cheese on artisan bread and served grilled, according to the menu.

Among the Ashby’s Sterling ice cream options is the Spumoni, which combines four flavors of amaretto cherry, pistachio almond, dark chocolate and gold rum plus a whipped cream swirl, according to the description by it.

Impressions from the first customers about the new spot

Myanna Askew and her son, Cameron, 3, were the first customers when the Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections opened its doors Wednesday.

“I think it’s beautiful,” said Askew, who’s from Seattle, Washington, and lives in Warner Robins. “Something new and different.”

Askew, who described herself as an influencer, was busy filming and taking photos she planned to share on social media about the Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections.

Her son was perched on a stool nearby enjoying a cotton candy flavored ice cream.

Patti and Alan Anderson of Bonaire were the next customers through the door.

“Wow. This is really something else,” Patti Anderson said.

Alan Anderson noted, “It’s so well decorated. So interesting to look around, and the food is as good to eat as it is to look at.”

The Andersons had been waiting for the new spot to open, often driving by to check on its progress.

The couple drank coffee and shared a “Fat Cats” cinnamon roll with plans to return another day for lunch.

The new spot was about a year in the making

Mad Hatter Cafe & Confections is the first restaurant for the Saunders women.

“We were goofing around one weekend and I said, ‘I am going to open a millinery shop and call it Mad Hatter because I love hats,’” Stephanie Saunders said. “’I love making hats … I’m going to create these outrageous hats’ ... and we all laughed.”

A couple of days later, Stephanie Saunders had the idea of she and her daughters opening an ice cream and confections shop and calling it the Mad Hatter.

As the women took steps in that direction, the decision was made to buy instead of lease their building and open a quick-serve cafe.

With the location across from the base and with the large kitchen, serving lunch just made sense, Drake and Sage Saunders said.

The sisters’ background in restaurants includes two quarters of culinary classes together at Helms College in Macon before joining the Pond Restaurant in Warner Robins where they worked in the kitchen, waited tables, served as hostesses and filled in wherever needed.

Drake and Sage Saunders also worked together at 3rd & Cherry in downtown Macon, where they gained bar tending experience, which gave them the know-how needed to create their specialty non-alcoholic beverages called fizzes.

That’s also where the seed was planted for the restaurant’s catch phrase, “Let Mad Hatter Cafe be the cherry on top of your day!” An appreciative customer once pulled Drake Saunders aside while she was working at 3rd & Cherry and told her she was “the cherry on the top of her day.”

The compliment resonated with Drake Saunders so much that the women decided to incorporate the compliment into their logo.

Hours & more

The cafe and confectionery, which can seat up to about 60 people, includes a long seating bar facing the outside, a dining area and a small seating area. Dine-in and carry out are available.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and then Tuesday through Friday. The cafe and confectionery is closed Monday and Saturday. Contact the owners at contact@madhatcafe.com.

This story was originally published November 21, 2025 at 9:30 AM.