CINCINNATI — V’s Cafe on 7th marks a new chapter in the nearly 47-year history of Vonderhaar’s Catering.
The local catering service, which opened for business in 1969, opened a cafe in early December at the corner of 7th and Walnut streets inside the Aronoff Center for the Arts. Vonderhaar’s has provided catering at the Aronoff for years through a kitchen located in the basement of the facility.
General manager Charles Wright describes V’s as a high-end cafe that serves locally sourced breakfast and lunch foods from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. The cafe also will remain open until curtain calls for some performances at the Aronoff.
PHOTOS: Go inside V's Cafe on 7th
“All of our ingredients are sourced here in Ohio whenever possible,” Wright said. Those ingredients include Ohio Amish cheese, naturally cured deli meats with no preservatives and breads baked daily at Giminetti Baking Co.
V’s menu offers daily breakfast and lunch specials, including four different soups, salads and an array of sandwiches. Sample sandwiches include “The Cincy,” a goetta meatball and apple caraway kraut sandwich with Rhinegeist mustard on a sub roll, and the “Rolled Blue,” a turkey sausage link breakfast sandwich with the house blueberry spread and a raspberry espresso maple glaze. Other menu items include jumbo muffins, scones, yogurt parfaits, chips, dips and cold pasta salads, as well as vegetarian options.
Breakfast and lunch items run $7-$10. Wright said as a small, locally owned business, V’s plans to tweak its menu according to customers' tastes as time progresses.
“I can change my menu any time I want,” he said.
Wright also has a keen focus on maximizing customers’ time. The eatery serves food as quickly as possible. V’s also is part of ChowNow, a free smartphone app that lets people place orders and pay for them before coming to the eatery. (Download it through the iTunes or Google Play app stores.) Orders also can be placed via the "ChowNow" website. Delivery is available through OrderUp.
Now in its second month of operation and with staff fully trained, V plans to welcome customers and Downtown neighbors to the cafe with a grand opening celebration 5-7 p.m. Wednesday.
