Chef opens cafecito and bakery adjacent to popular restaurant
Courtesy of V&V
V&V stands for the owners’ two children, Vincent and Vivien
Courtesy of V&V
The cafe is modernly decorated, with bright splashes of color and seating to accommodate customers that want to savor a warm cup of coffee and pastry.
Courtesy of V&V
These Halloween-themed macarons are just one of the many seasonal offerings the shop has provided
Courtesy of V&V
The cafecito also offers food more than just baked goods, like this ham and Swiss sandwich on a croissant
Since May 2018, chef Martin Lamarche and his wife, Kristin, have been whetting and satisfying patrons’ appetites at V&V Scratch Kitchen in Finleyville.
Without much advertising, the restaurant, located along Brownsville Road Extension, has built a large and loyal patron base, mainly by social media posts on Facebook and Instagram and by word of mouth.
Insisting on serving quality farm-to-table products, the kitchen makes everything from scratch, including the deli meats and most of the bread. Out back, a smoker is used to turn out everything from smoked chicken wings and pastrami to the chicken used in the Vivien, a sandwich named after the couple’s daughter.
The other V in the restaurant stands for son Vincent, who gets his own name on a sandwich, a two-patty burger with bacon, grilled mushrooms and Thousand Island dressing.
Not content to rest on their laurels, the Lamarches, since 2020, had been toying with the idea of opening a cafecito (Spanish for little cup of coffee) and bakery adjacent to their popular restaurant.
“We noticed there was a need in the community where people could go for a good cup of coffee,” Lamarche said. “Since we have good pastry chefs on staff, we decided to add a bakery as well.”
Again the couple adopted a no-advertising policy. There’s not even a sign outside to identify the café, just a neon fixture that lights up the word “open” during business hours. Even so, the community has responded positively and embraced the cafecito wholeheartedly.
“It’s gratifying to come into work and see people lining up outside to get in,” Lamarche said. “And I can’t believe how much pastry we sell. It’s been fun to have built this by word of mouth and reputation alone.”
Like its sister establishment next door, most everything is made from scratch, including baked goods like buttermilk biscuits, biscotti, English muffins, bread puddings, strudels, cheesecakes and more.
Living up to its reputation for being homemade, the kitchen even makes in-house its various syrups (blueberry, hazelnut, vanilla, and more, depending on what’s in season) used in the coffee drinks.
Both the restaurant and cafecito have separate entrances but share the same outdoor seating area. The café also has 15 seats for those who’d prefer to eat and drink inside.
Lamarche grew up in the Washington D.C. area, but his ancestry is 100 percent Latino. His mother is from Guatemala, which explains the use of the quetzal, the national bird of Guatemala, in the business logo. His father hails from the Dominican Republic.
“It’s impossible for me not to incorporate some Latino culinary influences in our dishes,” said Lamarche, who has a resume that would be the envy of most chefs.
Starting at age 13, working in a taqueria, he then upgraded to line cook at the Occidental Grill in eyeshot of the White House in the nation’s capital. During his four years there, he advanced to executive sous chef by age 23.
Next came a two-year stint at the Inn at Little Washington in Northern Virginia, a Relais et Chateau establishment awarded three Michelin stars.
Wanting to work in Napa Valley, he eventually left for northern California with a set of recommendation letters but without the promise of a job. Soon, however, he landed a position at the renowned Terra Restaurant, owned by Hiro Some, winner of the 2003 James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef in California” award.
The shock of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center made him want to return home to his family in Virginia, where, in 2002, he and his parents opened a restaurant in Fredericksburg.
Five years later, he decided to “liquidate,” retire from the restaurant business and become a professional golf caddy. While attending an academy in Phoenix that offered such a program, he got a call from a fellow chef, Kenneth Binkley, who he’d known since their days working together at the Inn at Little Washington.
“I need your help this weekend,” Binkley said. Martin responded and eventually ended up staying as the restaurant’s expediter and butcher.
Several years later, Martin found himself working at the Red Bar in the Hamptons on Long Island, where he met his wife, Kristin, a former USAir flight attendant. The two hit it off, and Martin soon found himself invited to Kristin’s parents’ home in North Strabane for dinner.
“That’s when I realized if we were going to have kids and raise a family, it would have to be in the Pittsburgh area,” he said. “Most Pittsburghers I know are nice, authentic people, and I like how they wear their emotions on their sleeve. Furthermore, I believe that to be successful, you have to work hard, and that’s what most Pittsburghers I’ve met do.”
When he first moved to the area, he worked at the Andorra restaurant in Sewickley, then the Breakneck Tavern in Mars.
“When the opportunity opened up in Finleyville, we jumped at the chance,” Martin said. “The rest is history.”
The V&V Cafecito Café and Bakery is located at 6108 Brownsville Rd Ext #203 in Finleyville. It’s open Tuesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more details, visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/vvcafecito.