Alex Franck (left) and Andrew Bell pose near the counter in the Carriage House Cafe. (Charlotte Woods)
The cafe in The Valentine’s courtyard is getting a makeover and new ownership.
Restaurateur Kendra Feather has sold her Garnett’s location at the museum to two of her long-time employees, Andrew Bell and Alex Franck.
The eatery will be renamed as Carriage House Cafe – a fitting title, as it resides in an old carriage house on the property. The $10,000 sale Bell and Franck’s first venture into owning a cafe.
Previously, Franck worked as a personal assistant to Feather. Bell was the kitchen manager of Garnett’s sister location at 2001 Park Ave. in the Fan. Feather said the sale stemmed from her desire to scale back on owning restaurants; she also owns Ipanema Cafe, the Roosevelt and Laura Lee’s and said she had “bit off more” than she could chew.
“It was just casually discussed and it really happened very organically,” Feather said. “We discussed putting it on the market and they (Bell and Franck) said, ‘Why don’t we buy it?’”
Bell and Franck took ownership of the cafe in September, and have been rebranding it and closing the deal, which they financed with the help of a personal loan from Bank of America.
“We’re slow-burning through everything now because we’re still working on signage and finalizing everything,” Bell said.
The cafe will continue to serve items like desserts and sandwiches. (Charlotte Woods)
While the cafe is already open, the new menu will feature sandwiches – some with a historical touch – and desserts such as pies and cookies.
Bell said his team has added breakfast items to include “egg bites,” which are single quiches with a variety of ingredients. It also plans to offer local coffee from brewers like Blanchard’s and Black Hand.
Bell, who is also pursuing his master’s degree in history, has enjoyed naming sandwiches in honor of Virginia notables. One is the Eleanor Parker Shepherd, who was the first female mayor of Richmond. Another is James Lafayette, a former slave who took his name from his owner, Marquis de Lafayette, and served as a spy during the Revolutionary War.
As part of the cafe rebranding, Bell and Franck have enjoyed paying homage to American history and their location on the museum’s grounds.
“I’ve named a good chunk of the sandwiches after people inside of the museum exhibits to at least spark the conversation for people to say, ‘Who is this person?’ and I can give a synopsis and then say, ‘Go over there (to the Valentine) and give them money. They deserve it,” Bell said.
The cafe has debuted new hours of operations. “We just pushed our hours to eight in the morning, trying to grab people on their way to work, to three in the afternoon,” Bell said.
Bell has worked in kitchen management for many years and said owning a kitchen was the “next logical step.” Franck also wanted to own one.
“I’ve always wanted to have a business before I was 30,” said Franck, who is 28. “So here we are.”
“She’s hard to replace. I’ll really have to stay on top of things,” Feather said of her now former assistant. “I’m really excited for them. As a boss, I think for many of us, one of our hopes is to give someone else a chance to be their own first-time boss. That’s pretty special.”
Alex Franck (left) and Andrew Bell pose near the counter in the Carriage House Cafe. (Charlotte Woods)
The cafe in The Valentine’s courtyard is getting a makeover and new ownership.
Restaurateur Kendra Feather has sold her Garnett’s location at the museum to two of her long-time employees, Andrew Bell and Alex Franck.
The eatery will be renamed as Carriage House Cafe – a fitting title, as it resides in an old carriage house on the property. The $10,000 sale Bell and Franck’s first venture into owning a cafe.
Previously, Franck worked as a personal assistant to Feather. Bell was the kitchen manager of Garnett’s sister location at 2001 Park Ave. in the Fan. Feather said the sale stemmed from her desire to scale back on owning restaurants; she also owns Ipanema Cafe, the Roosevelt and Laura Lee’s and said she had “bit off more” than she could chew.
“It was just casually discussed and it really happened very organically,” Feather said. “We discussed putting it on the market and they (Bell and Franck) said, ‘Why don’t we buy it?’”
Bell and Franck took ownership of the cafe in September, and have been rebranding it and closing the deal, which they financed with the help of a personal loan from Bank of America.
“We’re slow-burning through everything now because we’re still working on signage and finalizing everything,” Bell said.
The cafe will continue to serve items like desserts and sandwiches. (Charlotte Woods)
While the cafe is already open, the new menu will feature sandwiches – some with a historical touch – and desserts such as pies and cookies.
Bell said his team has added breakfast items to include “egg bites,” which are single quiches with a variety of ingredients. It also plans to offer local coffee from brewers like Blanchard’s and Black Hand.
Bell, who is also pursuing his master’s degree in history, has enjoyed naming sandwiches in honor of Virginia notables. One is the Eleanor Parker Shepherd, who was the first female mayor of Richmond. Another is James Lafayette, a former slave who took his name from his owner, Marquis de Lafayette, and served as a spy during the Revolutionary War.
As part of the cafe rebranding, Bell and Franck have enjoyed paying homage to American history and their location on the museum’s grounds.
“I’ve named a good chunk of the sandwiches after people inside of the museum exhibits to at least spark the conversation for people to say, ‘Who is this person?’ and I can give a synopsis and then say, ‘Go over there (to the Valentine) and give them money. They deserve it,” Bell said.
The cafe has debuted new hours of operations. “We just pushed our hours to eight in the morning, trying to grab people on their way to work, to three in the afternoon,” Bell said.
Bell has worked in kitchen management for many years and said owning a kitchen was the “next logical step.” Franck also wanted to own one.
“I’ve always wanted to have a business before I was 30,” said Franck, who is 28. “So here we are.”
“She’s hard to replace. I’ll really have to stay on top of things,” Feather said of her now former assistant. “I’m really excited for them. As a boss, I think for many of us, one of our hopes is to give someone else a chance to be their own first-time boss. That’s pretty special.”
I’m looking forward to checking this place out! Good luck to the new owners!
Congratulations to Alex and Andrew!
Kendra is such a class act and wonderful leader in our community!
Assisting in lifting others up is a true measure of genuine leadership in my book. It’s an organic way to make our city a better place for all.