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The owners of Fuel Pump, partners Mary Dail and Andreas Waltenburg
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Fuel Pump is sourcing its coffee from Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee.
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The espresso machine at Fuel Pump
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The interior of Fuel Pump blends earth tones with rustic reclaimed wood and industrial metals.
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Fuel Pump features a mix of high-top tables, two- and four-person tables, and window and patio seating.
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Tea is also among Fuel Pump's offerings and will be sourced from Belloqc in Brooklyn, New York. This electric pour-over kettle has an adjustable temperature control system.
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Fuel Pump plans to host events such as wine and cheese tastings in the future.
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Fuel Pump will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., making them one of the few coffee shops in the area with late-night hours.
Business partners and spouses Mary Dail and Andreas Waltenburg are ready to connect with the neighborhood when they debut Fuel Pump, a coffee and wine bar opening the evening of Friday, June 7, In the former 10 Italian Cafe space at 3200 W. Cary St. in Carytown.
Fuel Pump is the New York transplants' first venture together, though Waltenburg, a 20-year veteran of the dining industry, owns The Folly, a bar and restaurant in New York City. When the duo relocated to Richmond in 2016, they knew they wanted to make their mark here.
“We found a [coffee] company we really love, and we wanted to bring that to Richmond, to our new home,” says Dail, a former photography editor for Martha Stewart Living who is also opening a studio in the city.
Why the name Fuel Pump? As Dail points out, both coffee and wine are vehicles meant to produce a mood — one to uplift and the other to unwind. “Fuel you in the morning and in the evening,” explains the North Carolina native.
“Having a great cup of coffee in the morning and going to your job, then coming home to a nice glass of wine — we want to offer both those things,” she says.
Coffee will be sourced from Intelligentsia, a company in direct contact with farmers — a major reason Fuel Pump chose to partner with them. Fuel Pump will also serve Bellocq tea, owned by Dail’s former co-worker, a onetime food editor at Martha Stewart Living, along with traditional and New World wine varietals and beer.
The overall focus at Fuel Pump is on high-quality ingredients and attention to detail as well as providing an approachable space that offers more than just a caffeine fix.
The inside of Fuel Pump blends earth tones with rustic reclaimed wood and industrial metal accents — an aesthetic balancing early-morning pit stop with late-night hangout.
“There is somebody out there that wants a cup of coffee at 7 a.m. and someone that wants one at 10 p.m. at night. … People will dictate the style of place they want it to be,” Waltenburg says. “It’s so clear, particularly in our line of work, that Richmond is changing and evolving quickly, and there will be a broader market for things.”
The food component of Fuel Pump is still under development, but the intention is to highlight local products and purveyors and feature salads, sandwiches and charcuterie. Initially the menu will focus on items including bagels, pastries, ricotta toast and jams.
Dail and Waltenburg want to invite the community into the Fuel Pump space and have plans to make use of the patio by hosting events such a fall oyster roast or cheese and wine tastings.
“We aren’t a franchise popping up on the corner, we are a mom-and-pop spot, and we want to be here for the neighborhood, have them feel like it’s their place, too,” says Dail.
Fuel Pump will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with happy hours from noon to 8 p.m.
