Houstonians have a new option for satisfying their seemingly limitless caffeine addiction. Michael Caplan has quietly opened the second location of Cavo Coffee.
Like it sister location in Greenway Plaza, the new Cavo features a clean, modern look with a variety of tables, chairs, and couches that are welcome for both laptop warriors and those just looking to relax. It shares the building at 2617 Bissonnet St. with the Local Office coworking space and the newly opened Hanh Gallery.
While both Cavo locations serve the same locally roasted espresso from Amaya Roasting Coffee and brews from Portland's Heart Coffee Roasters, the menu is all new. The toasts at the original location have been replaced by a new menu of sandwiches, salads, and shareable plates that work for breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack. Once it's dialed in, the new menu will roll out to the original location as well.
In addition, Caplan recruited rising star pastry chef Valerie Trasatti (Revival Market, Benevento Bake Shop) to create a full range of pastries that are baked in house. At a time when many coffee shops still buy pastries from questionable sources, Trasatti has developed recipes for muffins, cookies, and cakes that are baked on site. Croissants come from a high quality local bakery.
Caplan co-founded Montrose's popular Siphon Coffee. While he's since sold his interest in that business, Cavo still offers the brewing method. In addition, cold brews come via glass towers that allow customers to watch the four-hour process.
If that weren't enough, Caplan has another trick up his sleeve. In addition to launching a new coffee shop, he's also getting into the roasting business with Cleo Roasting Company, which is located next door to Cavo. That project is still in the testing phase, but Caplan tells CultureMap that once he has everything dialed in, Cavo customers will be able to order Cleo coffees and beans at both Cavo locations.
He also sees Cleo as having the potential to roast micro-batches of ultra premium coffees with raw prices that are as much as $100 per pound. Just as some people are willing to pay $100 to sample a fine wine or whiskey, Caplan thinks a certain breed of coffee-obsessed customers might be willing to pay $25 for a pour-over.
Whether he's right about that remains to be seen, but judging by the crowd at Cavo on a recent weekday, the neighborhood is pretty happy about the new addition to the area.
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The cheesesteak is served on a seeded hoagie roll.Photo by Michael Ma