Once upon a time Real & Rosemary fans were asking if they could use the restaurant for events. Its space is limited, though, but those asks sparked a new idea for its owners: a coffee shop by day and event space by night. And so just two years after Real & Rosemary was born, along came its sister, Caveat Coffee. Stop by the intersection of Linden Avenue and Crescent 7 a.m.-7 p.m. to pick up an online order at their drive-through window, chat with a friend inside or, perhaps the best option, sip a Black & Tan on the back patio. You might just catch an Instagram photoshoot while you’re at it like we did. What’s a Black & Tan, you say? We’ll let one of the shop’s visionaries tell you herself.
What’s at the heart of what you do here?
The food is very important to me, but the conversations and the people you meet are just as important. We are trying to set it up so you can connect with people. In today’s world with social media where everybody is so plugged in and connected to their phone, it’s nice to be able to put it down and look somebody in the eye. That’s where the name Caveat came from—it’s an exception to come take a moment out of your day, get a cup of coffee and connect with somebody else. We like to create special experiences, and I think it’s cool we get to do that in a house. We want you to focus on who and what’s important around you.
Can you talk about how the space came into being?
We found this great house on Linden. It was home to Alabama Reweaving, but they moved and the building sat vacant for a long time. I have always wanted to rehab a house and turn it into a retail spot, so we took it down to the studs and opened it up. It was all choppy in a bunch of different rooms before. We were able to keep about 75 percent of the original floors, and discovered these original trusses in the ceiling and were able to keep all of the original roof. We added more doors and windows, and I had an artist who is on staff with us do a plaster finish on the walls to give it some depth and texture. I love being able to use our own talent when we can. We used the same designer as we did for Real & Rosemary. It’s fun seeing your idea come to life. I like how open it is, and hopefully it’s a bright spot in your day.
What’s on tap for this summer?
We think it’s going to be fun for people to hang out on the patio with the good weather. You can also rent out the whole thing or just part of it. We have had inquiries for bridesmaids luncheons, rehearsal dinners, corporate functions and going away parties. We can book from 10 to 100 people. We cater from Real & Rosemary, and we have our beer and wine license for events. This summer we are going to do a Summer Sips series with a focus on different wines throughout the summer on Thursday nights that’s open to everyone. That will be a fun way to have the community come out to experience some different things.
What should we order?
We are working with La Colombe out of Philadelphia to supply our coffee. They have really high quality beans. We also feature draft lattes, and you can do just cold brew, just draft latte, or mix them together for what we call a Black & Tan. We have been asked if it has alcohol in it. It does not, and it does not have sugar or anything. It’s all cold, which is great for our hot summers. The cold brew mixes with milk and nitrogen for the draft latte side.
We’re also working with a company called H&F Bread Co. out of Atlanta to supply muffins and Danishes. It’s the same company that does our bread in our restaurant, and everything is all natural and preservative-free. We also work with Pastry Art to supply cake cups, big versions of the Baby Bites, like in the restaurant. We serve spa waters too, which come in a variety of seasonal flavors, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. We’re going to add Greek yogurt parfaits with granola, and we have a lot of food items we are developing to release soon.
Where do you recommend parking when you are coming to Caveat?
Right now there is public parking anywhere that there’s not a yellow curb on Crescent, and you can park at the gravel lot across from Little Donkey or on 18th Street and walk a block. We have two parking spots in the front and two spots in the back, plus a wheelchair spot.
