CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Flexibility might be Richard Arbaugh's middle name.
When he and his wife, Anne, opened South Hills Market and Café three years ago, he served breakfasts and lunches and offered take-out dinner items in the market case. Less than a year later, Arbaugh expanded the hours through dinnertime and added entrees of elegantly composed dishes. In September, the restaurant was granted a liquor license, so he built a small bar with full bar service.
Arbaugh listens to customers' suggestions. He tweaks the menu to keep them happy. Recently, some were looking for healthier options. Others, who said they felt the pinch of tough economic times, couldn't quite handle the prices of the dinner entrees paired with carefully selected accompaniments.
He made more adjustments.
"We offering more items a la carte," he said. "They can mix and match. A lot of people just want a piece of fish or a filet and a salad. They don't want a full meal."
The composed, or full course, dishes featured exotic ingredients like miniature shiitake mushrooms and blue fin tuna that drove up their prices. Arbaugh still offers composed dishes such as a beef short ribs with white cheddar grits and fennel/green apple slaw for $25, but Carolina trout with butter and lemon is $12 and build-your-own pasta dishes start at $9.
"Even in this rough economy, we've been pretty lucky," he said. "We've seen some tough times, but the community has been really supportive."
The restaurant usually bustles at breakfast and lunchtime when patrons may order half versions of sandwiches and wraps, either half or full-sized, salads and soup. They won't get any French fries, however. South Hills Market and Café has no deep fryer. Chips or a changing selection of side salads come with the sandwiches. Pastina, three-bean, Mediterranean pasta and beet salads were on display last week.
A house omelet stuffed with smoked salmon, Boursin cheese, tomatoes and chives stays on the breakfast and lunch menu, as does stuffed French toast made from Charleston Bread's brioche.
Arbaugh adjusts the menu for the season, but said he'll make off-the-menu items at a customer's request if he has the ingredients. He and his sous chef Abigail Bingaman and night lead chef Ben Jordan prepare vegetarian, vegan and gluten free items to order.
The café's signature dessert has to be the oversized cookies in the dessert case. Roughly the equivalent of three normal cookies, the giant chocolate chip, sugar, ginger, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and other cookies sell in big numbers. Children and adults' eyes light up the first time they see them.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Flexibility might be Richard Arbaugh's middle name.
When he and his wife, Anne, opened South Hills Market and Café three years ago, he served breakfasts and lunches and offered take-out dinner items in the market case. Less than a year later, Arbaugh expanded the hours through dinnertime and added entrees of elegantly composed dishes. In September, the restaurant was granted a liquor license, so he built a small bar with full bar service.
Arbaugh listens to customers' suggestions. He tweaks the menu to keep them happy. Recently, some were looking for healthier options. Others, who said they felt the pinch of tough economic times, couldn't quite handle the prices of the dinner entrees paired with carefully selected accompaniments.
He made more adjustments.
"We offering more items a la carte," he said. "They can mix and match. A lot of people just want a piece of fish or a filet and a salad. They don't want a full meal."
The composed, or full course, dishes featured exotic ingredients like miniature shiitake mushrooms and blue fin tuna that drove up their prices. Arbaugh still offers composed dishes such as a beef short ribs with white cheddar grits and fennel/green apple slaw for $25, but Carolina trout with butter and lemon is $12 and build-your-own pasta dishes start at $9.
"Even in this rough economy, we've been pretty lucky," he said. "We've seen some tough times, but the community has been really supportive."
The restaurant usually bustles at breakfast and lunchtime when patrons may order half versions of sandwiches and wraps, either half or full-sized, salads and soup. They won't get any French fries, however. South Hills Market and Café has no deep fryer. Chips or a changing selection of side salads come with the sandwiches. Pastina, three-bean, Mediterranean pasta and beet salads were on display last week.
A house omelet stuffed with smoked salmon, Boursin cheese, tomatoes and chives stays on the breakfast and lunch menu, as does stuffed French toast made from Charleston Bread's brioche.
Arbaugh adjusts the menu for the season, but said he'll make off-the-menu items at a customer's request if he has the ingredients. He and his sous chef Abigail Bingaman and night lead chef Ben Jordan prepare vegetarian, vegan and gluten free items to order.
The café's signature dessert has to be the oversized cookies in the dessert case. Roughly the equivalent of three normal cookies, the giant chocolate chip, sugar, ginger, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and other cookies sell in big numbers. Children and adults' eyes light up the first time they see them.
They sell for $1.85 to $1.95, a price Arbaugh has struggled to keep down despite the rising cost of butter and grains. "We could make them smaller, but people would notice," he said.
The Arbaughs' young daughter, Bella, enjoys the occasional treat of part of a cookie. The couple adjusted their work routine when she arrived 17 months ago. Anne minds the store during the morning rush, while Arbaugh stays home with Bella. He hands her off to her mother while he heads in for the afternoon and evening shift.
Arbaugh trained at the New England Culinary Institute, and worked at The Greenbrier, Hotel Roanoke and other places before opening Bridge Road Bistro with owner/chef Robert Wong. He and Anne met at the Bistro, where she also worked, and moved away from Charleston while he worked at The Homestead. They returned to open South Hills Market and Café.
There might be some competition between the two restaurants, but Arbaugh said the South Hills restaurateurs mostly have a "the more the merrier" philosophy.
"I think the consensus here of all the restaurants is that we just want to keep people coming up here," he said. "There might be some friendly competition, but everybody is just trying to make a living. We try to look out for each other."
In his soft-spoken voice, Arbaugh greets many customers by name. Some of them pick up a quick dinner from his market case. Meatloaf, roasted chicken and crab cakes are favorites. He's not sure why his meatloaf is such a hit. It's a classic with peppers and onions, very little breadcrumbs and a spiced catsup glaze.
Crispy tender asparagus, roasted carrots, French green beans with blue cheese and raisins, and potato gratin were some of the side dishes in the carry out case last week.
South Hills Market seats 30 to 40 patrons. The intimate setting is usually quiet with no televisions or live music.
"Quite a few people come in for a quiet drink late in the afternoon. They can order anything they want. If they only want three pieces of shrimp, we can do that," he said. "We try to give them what they want."
Customers can check South Hills Market and Café specials on Facebook and Twitter.
South Hills Market and Café, 1010 Bridge Rd., is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday for breakfast, lunch and carryout. Dinner service is added Wednesday through Saturday when the restaurant stays open until 9 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Call 304-345-2585.
Reach Julie Robinson at jul...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1230.
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