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Butterbean Market & Cafe offers a full espresso bar, beer, wine and kombucha on tap.
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A window seat at Butterbean Market & Cafe facing Hull Street in Manchester
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The front counter at Butterbean
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The outdoor patio at Butterbean will be open on warmer days.
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The market side of Butterbean will feature local goods, grocery staples, and a selection of bottled beer and wine.
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Butterbean will feature an assortment of local products including AR's Hot Southern Honey, Bombolini Pasta and Gearharts Fine Chocolates.
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The Butterbean Market & Cafe opened its doors over the weekend at 1204 Hull St. in Manchester, making it the second property from Michael and Laura Hild's Church Hill Ventures to open in the city’s South Side within the past year.
The market and cafe and their spacious outdoor patio are located across the street from the Hilds' first eatery to open in the neighborhood, Hot Diggity Donuts, and offer breakfast and lunch, to-go items, local goods, artisanal sandwiches, salads and online ordering.
“We’re targeting singles and couples and people looking for something interesting or different, that kind of thing,” says Church Hill Ventures Culinary Director Dan Scherotter.
The kitchen at The Butterbean is headed by John Kinser, formerly a chef at Union Market in Church Hill, who makes his culinary return to Virginia after a stint in Florida.
“He really gets the menu and the concept of what we want to accomplish,” says Scherotter.
Breakfast offerings range from French toast made with locally baked challah to crab and country ham biscuits and The Butterbean’s version of a morning sammie — a grilled bialy with local bacon and egg — or a traditional Polish roll stuffed with eggs, sharp cheddar and scallions.
The menu blends Southern specialties including deviled eggs and an assortment of pickles (cucumbers, beets, peppers and cauliflower) with updated European offerings such as piadina, Italian flatbread sandwiches, elevated with the addition of sherry-poached pears and caramelized onions. Other dishes include a warm spinach salad, roasted lemon chicken soup, 10-hour wild boar chili, a pork and foie-gras bratwurst with house-made sauerkraut and a “Not So Plain Jane" chicken sandwich with roasted chili mayo.
In a decadent take on s’mores, The Butterbean ditches graham crackers for Stroopwafels, a crisp, waffle-like cookie sandwich with a caramel center, and smothers them with a creamy dark chocolate-hazelnut paste and toppings of caramelized bananas, marshmallows and candied tangerine.
On tap at The Butterbean are four reds, four whites, a handful of sparkling wines, Ninja Kombucha, and a mix of Richmond- and Virginia-brewed beers. The Butterbean has partnered with CaryTown Teas to create special blends unique to the cafe — thus far they’ve created a sarsaparilla, with a flavor reminiscent of root beer, and a paw paw blend.
Seeking a caffeine fix? The Butterbean serves Blanchard’s Coffee, and customers can find Black Hand and Recluse Roasting Project beans for sale on the market side.
The market at The Butterbean features traditional grocery store staples along with goods from local purveyors including AR’s Hot Southern Honey, Bombolini Pasta, Gearhart's Fine Chocolates, Chocolates by Kelly and more.
The head brewer for the Hilds' forthcoming brewery and restaurant, Dogtown Brewing, will serve as beverage director for The Butterbean until the suds start flowing at the brewery later this year.
The Butterbean Market & Cafe is open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
