Café Veloce

Sometimes you just want to find that elusive restaurant where you can have a relaxed meal that falls somewhere between upscale and hole-in-the-wall. Café Veloce is that rare breed of restaurant, one that is casual, comfortable, friendly and fun; a no-need-to-dress-up place, but one that also offers great food. It's the type of place that consistently has the food quality and neighborliness you want without a lot of hype. And it's even got vintage Italian racing motorcycles and memorabilia that add to the fun.

Todd Fell, the original owner, is a racing enthusiast who thought it would be great to have a themed restaurant. He opened Café Veloce in 1992, populating it with nine classic bikes, photos and other memorabilia. Around 1996, he sold the restaurant to his daughter and her husband, Victoria and Yanis Nadzin. In 1997, they hired Liz Caluori as a server, which would later turn out to be an excellent hiring decision.

Like many people, Liz had worked her way through college in restaurants and delis. In 1985, she began her serious restaurant career working as a server and manager. At one point, she worked at Jungle Jim's in Bellevue Square, a place that continually broke selling records ($1,500 an hour, $20,000 in a day). Liz managed the restaurant and did all the scheduling and hiring. "Once you've worked this kind of place with these kinds of hours, the juggling of schedules and the volume of customers, you can handle anything. I was looking for something a little less busy," laughs Liz.

After working at Café Veloce, Liz wanted to own her own place. Her desire coincided with the Nadzin's desire to sell and she purchased the Café in 2000. "I always loved Café Veloce as a server. In other restaurants you always had to be aware of who was in the kitchen on any given night. At Café Veloce, everything is pre-portioned. That doesn't mean it's pre-made, it just means that things are always cut the same way which keeps textures consistent and portions are always the same for each ingredient. People appreciate it. They can come back again and get the same dish they enjoyed so much before. The Café has a really strong customer base because people are so satisfied," explains Liz. "That was a big selling point to me as a potential buyer, too."

To keep that consistency, one person preps the ingredients. Then when a customer orders, the actual cooking begins. "Every item on every pizza is made to order," says Liz. "One of our most popular sauces is the alfredo that we make each day with heavy cream and parmesan—it's not bland!"

Menu items are an intriguing mix of New Orleans Cajun and Italian. Some dishes are a blend of cultures and some are straight Italian. For instance, one of the pastas is the Criolo with Cajun andouille sausage and chicken with onions, peppers and garlic in a Creole sauce, topped with smoked gouda, provolone, green onions and red pepper flakes. Another is classic Italian, bowtie pasta and mushrooms in a creamy pesto sauce with a touch of marinara, topped with fresh parmesan, basil and pine nuts.

Happy with the recipes and menu, Liz hasn't changed much. The one area that she has expanded is the wine list which now offers over 100 wines, primarily Washington and Italian varietals. "We offer a lot of wines by the glass as well as by the bottle," says Liz. "The front page of the list changes monthly and nearly the entire wine list changes 3-4 times per year, although there are some sentimental favorites that always stay on."

In addition, Café Veloce holds wine tastings every month or two, always on Mondays. A winemaker or importer is on hand to pour and talk about the wines. Five to seven wines are tasted and paired with menu samplings. The wines tasted, as well as all wines on the list, are available for sale at the restaurant. Prices for the tastings depend on the wines being tasted. Generally they have 30-70 people show up.

"The vintage Italian motorcycling theme is strong," says Liz, "but not necessarily in the ways you might think. For instance, kids do like it, but families with young kids aren't a huge part of our business. Kids are mostly here on Friday and Saturday nights, but the rest of the week, it's a very mixed crowd. And it's not a ‘motorcycle' hangout—I'd say about 25 percent of our customers ride. One of the biggest surprises to me is that Valentine's Day is the biggest day of the year for us. It's probably not so surprising that Father's Day is bigger than Mother's Day."

A big part of business comes in the form of business lunches. With a lot of tech businesses located nearby as well as the hospital, there are a lot of people to feed at the restaurant and a lot of take out being ordered. "We offer family-style catering orders as well as regular takeout for individuals. So if someone is having an office party or in-office business lunch, we can provide platters of food for them," explains Liz.

The racing theme does draw clubs that hold their meetings there—both motorcycle and car clubs—like Cycle Barn MotorSports, Rainier Auto Club, SCRC motorcycle club, the Iron Butt spring fling and the Porsche Club volunteer and new member meetings. They handle a lot of annual events for people and awards ceremonies like the awards for the 3 Pass Blast, an annual ride put on by Sound RIDER! (sibling publication of Seattle DINING!).  Motorcyclists who ride in are entitled to 10% off their check.

Besides the theme and good food, Café Veloce draws groups in with their flexibility. Even if there are 50 people attending, they can all have separate checks. "They have to know it will take longer to get out after the event, but we're happy to do it for them," says Liz. "At some events, there are people who just want a beer and some who want a full meal. It's much easier for them to have separate checks. If a group is paying out of their funds, we'll do one check for them. They can pre-order or let everyone order off the menu when they arrive. It's whatever works best for their particular situation."

Individuals or groups can fax in their order so that the food is on the table when they arrive. "We set it up for them so all they have to do is come in, sit down, eat and head out. People want to spend their time catching up with each other over a meal, not reading the menu, especially at lunch when their time is limited," explains Liz.

Groups of 50 or more also have the option of holding after-hours events at the Café. The best times for these types of events are Saturday and Sunday before 3 p.m. (lunch is not served on the weekend), or after the restaurant closes at 9:30 or 10 p.m. "We even had a wedding here, both the ceremony and the reception," says Liz. "Afterward, the bride and groom rode off on their motorcycle."

Part of what makes Café Veloce such a neighborly and comfortable place is the staff who are friends and family. "We have a few people right now who have been here about six months," says Liz, "but most of our employees have been here from three to ten years." Liz runs the front of the house while her husband, John Haltom, runs the back of the house, including doing some of the cooking. Her son Nick started working at the Café when he was 15 as a busser (he's 21 now and one of the 5-6 managers). Twin daughters, Kathryn and Carole, are 15 and may start working there this summer. Liz and John had a child in February of 2005, Joy. It may be awhile before Joy is ready to get to work.

"Most of our new employees come recommended by current employees," explains Liz. "Nick has three friends working here now, we have a mother/daughter combo and the daughter has brought in four of her friends. Most of the time, I can count on kids starting to work while they're in high school when they're around 15 and they leave after they finish college. They'll stay with us for 8-10 years. With the kids needing to work during the summer, the mothers can relax and work fewer hours. It works out well."

The future looks bright for Café Veloce. There's a new mall owner for Totem Lake Mall who has revitalization plans. A Sound Transit Center is coming nearby. There are new freeway exits and entrances being put in that will help the flow of traffic. Liz is in the process of changing the wine list again and Nick is pondering opening another café, possibly in Bellingham.

So when you're looking for that perfect melding of casual atmosphere and great food, remember to add Café Veloce to your short list.

Connie Adams/April 2006