Cafe Caturra Opens At Short Pump Crossing: A Photo Tour

Cafe Caturra has opened its fourth Richmond location in the Short Pump Crossing shopping center, near Ukrop’s. The establishment serves breakfast, lunch and dinner and is known for their fresh coffee, roasted in-house daily, as well as panini sandwiches, specialty soups and hand-tossed salads. But this isn’t another Panera-style chain restaurant. Cafe Caturra offers so […]

September 20, 2009; 7:33 PM • by Trevor Dickerson

Cafe Caturra offers so much more in terms of both the food and the experience in general. Owner John Duffey says the idea of Cafe Caturra is to create a place where people are comfortable in any situation, any time of day. The cafe is ideal for everything from business meetings (free Wi-Fi is available) to a casual meal with friends. “We put the experience in the hands of the customer,” Duffey said.

You can select from 10-12 domestic and imported beers that are featured at the cafe, and they also stock 24 select wines from Portugal, Spain & France, stored in a temperature-controlled, in-house wine preservation system. Paired with the wines, cheese boards are offered around dinnertime, meant to be shared and enjoyed with friends.

An indoor/outdoor fireplace provides warmth on cool Autumn nights and comfortable seating surrounds it on the spacious patio, which is quickly becoming one of Cafe Caturra’s most loved features. “There’s not a lot of outdoor dining choices in this area,” Duffey said. “People have really been loving our patio.”

Cafe Caturra offers a social hour of sorts known as “Your Hour” from 3:00-6:00 p.m. daily, where all beers are just $3.00, cheese plates are $4.00 and all wines are just $5.00.

Weekly wine tastings will take place in the near future, and live music will also be offered beginning this Tuesday. “We’ll have a wide variety of local performers doing acoustic, coffeehouse-style music,” Duffey said.

“The most exciting thing [about the new location] is the very, very warm reception we’re received from the community,” Duffey added. “People tell us it feels like a very comfortable place to share with friends and to enjoy good food and good wine together.”