I tried this place because I love brunching at the original location on Richmond in the Greenway area. Parking was surprisingly easy with a small lot to the right of the establishment and a couple to-go spots out front. I will say, the only time I struggled was on a Saturday afternoon when I guess everyone needed their Cavo fix. If only I'd known at the time about additional parking next door at The Marquis, it's a bar that is closed during the day.
They are located between Local Office and Cleo Roasting, which is actually part of the Cavo Coffee family. Cleo's roasts all of their beans and is also how you can purchase beans for coffee making at home. The wall between the roasting and brewing businesses is fully glass, so you can actually watch them in action if you happen to be there while they're roasting beans. Thus far I have not been so lucky. But a little birdie informed me they do a bulk of their roasting on Wednesday's with some overflow and all the bottling on Thursday's.
When I first walked in, I was struck by the modern, chic design. Very similar aesthetic to the Greenway location. There is a long bench with a few tables to the right, along with three stand alone, two-person tables and an old school pac-man arcade game for two by the wall. Above the game they have a wall with old-school lettering with cute sayings that they change out. The gender neutral restrooms are behind an adorable door with stereotypical male and female silhouettes with their legs crossed like they really need to pee and are barely holding themselves together. Best part about the bathrooms? They have a surface for whatever you took in with you (let's be real, cell phones) to put down while on the throne and not have a drowning accident. They also have hairspray, tampons, floss-picks, and mouthwash. So great!
If we continue the counter-clockwise tour around the establishment, next to the restrooms door is a fridge with drinks and gallons of milk from a local dairy. Cavo Coffee is very big on sustainability and supporting local business for its ingredients. Next to this is a kitchenette of sorts with condiments, utensils, water, and a dirty dishes receptacle under the counter. Then there is a small display case with all of their in-house made baked goods, all of which they serve after warming up. Next comes the ordering counter, which is connected to a bar top where you can sit and watch them make drinks while you work, eat, chill. Their machinery set up is very cool and pretty. Sometimes I stand there after placing my order just to watch them work. The staff is super sweet and they will wash your tumbler for you if you brought your own cup.
Continuing our circle, there's that glass wall to Cleo's Roasting, and then a seating area with chairs and a coffee table. Along the front wall, there's another bar-height table with about four chairs. Next to that is a long table that separates the seating area from the rest of the venue with lots of chairs. The whole place is very pleasing to the eye and brightly lit because of the glass walls. The furniture is comfortable. Small issue though- the outlets are NOT plentiful. So get there early and secure yourself a plug if you know you'll need one. Or watch those seats like a hawk. Or, you can be super cool and bring an extension cord with multiple outlets to collect some good juju from the other patrons who also need outlets. Other reviews mentioned that the wifi caused them a lot of issues. Personally, I did not have these issues except once. But after restarting my wifi the issue was resolved.
Let's talk noms. Their coffee is smooth and not bitter, great things for a coffeeshop that prides itself on the quality of their drinks. Their syrups are also made in house as well, and they are not overly sweet. As for their baked goods, delicious. I've had their apple and gruyere scone and cream cheese pound cake. Both delicious. Both served warm. The pound cake comes with some kind of berry preserve and topped with lemon icing.
Overall, cool study spot that could use a few more outlets. Yum baked goods, good coffee, and kind service. read more