South Side is fast becoming the neighborhood hangout destination of its residents’ dreams, as cozy-up-with-something-delicious locales like White Horse Tavern, Chef Mamusu’s and Perk Coffee & Lunchbox pop up from Woodland Heights to Bon Air. Next month, the area will see another fun change: a haven for checking out live, local music while drinking craft beer and crushing a juicy burger. The venue itself, however, is not new. Westover Hills coffeehouse taZa Coffee 'n Creme is revamping its menu and space to fill a bigger niche in the community, and to give families a good option for going out.
“Oct. 5 represents our fifth year here, and while we’ve continued to grow and add offerings, we’re really trying to make changes for that milestone," explains co-owner Ben Spencer. "We’ve expanded our kitchen, gotten a stove, an oven, a fryer — we were just using a griddle — so we can improve menu offerings. We’ve also added an area where we’ll be serving craft beer from eight taps in the facility. With the space we have, which is big — 2,500 square feet — we can open later, have more live band events, provide a venue for the Westover Hills area to come for entertainment.”
No launch date is set, but sometime around the fifth anniversary, burgers (both meaty and non), fries, a range of vegetarian options and an extended selection of healthy children’s fare will beef up the menu, which currently includes Boar’s Head deli fare and breakfast sandwiches. Gelati Celesti’s ice cream is also available there, as well as go-to staples from other local vendors: Cupertino’s bagels, Blanchard’s coffee, and Dixie Donuts (yes, doughnuts are a staple, and I’ll stand by that statement forever and always). The upcoming beer selection will be from regional breweries like Hardywood, Blue Mountain and Center of the Universe, with Blue Bee Cider rounding things out for the non-beer inclined. Taps will rotate seasonally.
The final change will be a renaming of the space, as Spencer and his partner John Cherenzia field frequent calls for sound-alike eatery Tazza Kitchen — especially now that the unrelated restaurant has a South Side location. The official name is as of yet unconfirmed, but it will transform the coffee shop to “café” status.
TaZa Coffee 'n Creme is located at 5047 Forest Hill Ave. Check on its progress at tazacnc.com, or head over and grab a bite from the new menu after the Oct. 5 anniversary.
