What to expect from Carmella's Cafe & Dessert Bar coming to Reedy River area in Greenville
After nearly a decade of success in Charleston, Carmella's Cafe & Dessert Bar is headed north to open a location near Reedy River in Greenville this December.
The cafe-style breakfast and late-night drinks and dessert space is located at 335 S. Main St. and is aiming to be routine to the daytime traffic along Main Street and an after-hours space for the post-dinner crowd. The cafe also hopes to be a part of other major downtown festivities.
Brian Solari, the owner, waited years to find the perfect tenant space to open. Solari also spent the last 10 years curating a menu filled with coffees, cannolis, and a family recipe carrot cake made by Carmella's nephew, Dennis.
"All of that knowledge has gone into the building of the Greenville location," said Solari. "We know what we want to sell, how to store and make things. Greenville is the culmination of all of the knowledge we built while curating the Charleston location."
Solari expects the interior design and outdoor patio renovations to be complete by mid-November and a grand opening held sometime in December.
Nearly half of its business in Charleston comes from tourism. Solari hopes to establish Greenville's new dessert space along the Reedy River as a local staple featuring coffee, sorbet, cocktails, a diverse pastry menu and more.
Why chose Greenville for Carmella's second cafe
Named after his Grandmother, Carmella, the Italian dessert shop became Solari's first retail food venture in 2014. The New Jersey native had moved to Charleston in 1995 and waited for the perfect dining space to open. He used the same philosophy in opening a cafe in Greenville.
The choice to open the second Carmella's in Greenville came with the idea of a shorter distance from Greenville to Charleston. Solari also can visit family living in Anderson County, and those factors made the decision easy.
"A few times, I've stayed in Greenville and walked through the streets with my wife," Solari said. "I could see the growth and direction of the city and downtown area and figured it would be great to be part of it all."
Purchasing from statewide and regional coffee and tea roasters, plus the access to local breweries, made staying inside South Carolina an obvious choice.
"When people are in town, they're looking for what's local, and the industry has gone toward promoting and showcasing what is local, so we're in favor of that, for sure, " he said.
Differences between the Greenville, Charleston menus
Greenville and Charleston will share nearly 80 percent of the same menu. However, an in-house bakery to handle quiche, frittatas and muffins will separate the two locations.
The difference in the menu will come in the form of more sandwich and pizza topping options, and collaborations with local farmers and brewers primarily.
"There are things about Carmella that people have expectations about, and we want to keep those things consistent," Solari said. "Every menu will have seasonal menu changes that also highlight ingredients and trends happening in the Upstate."
Greenville will have a beer draft pouring system that features coffee, sparkling wine, beer, expresso martinis and more — features the Charleston location does not have.
"It's going to be a place people can come when they aren't done with their evening," Solari said. "We're going to be that spot where you can come and get cocktails for after dinner or enjoy a night out on the town business. I think people are going to love it."
– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and more for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on Twitter @ajhappened.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Carmella cafe to make breakfast dishes and serve drinks in Greenville
