New ROOTS café in South End hosts soft opening Saturday and Sunday

The new ROOTS café taking over the former Cluck ‘N Cup space in South End just announced a soft opening breakfast and brunch this weekend. ROOTS will serve food Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. as it starts to roll out its menu featuring locally sourced ingredients.

Once ROOTS fully opens sometime next week, the menu will offer everything from morning coffee, to breakfast, to lunch, to dinner, to an evening glass of wine.

“What we’re trying to do is create a place that people want to hang out in every single day,” said Craig Barbour, a ROOTS owner and chef. “We created an atmosphere in there that’s really comfortable. Once you’re in there you kind of just want to sit down and stay a while.”

Yes please. Both the space and the menu look delightful.

A look inside:

The ROOTS team toured cafés in food mecca New York City to inspire their South End vibe, which is evolving as elegant and rustic intertwined.

“There’s a sense of community about it,” said Barbour, 32, of the NYC culinary scene.

A look at the menu:

To sip on: There will be beer on tap, wine and locally roasted Enderly Coffee served daily. Customers can also settle into mimosas on Saturday and Sunday, with nice cava and fresh juice from a hand juicer.

Sandwiches: The list includes Pastrami (hot pastrami, half sour pickles, house mustard, on soft rye), BLTA (Benton’s bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado, black pepper aioli, on French bread) and veggie (sweet potato, quinoa, sprouts, cucumber, sweet curry aioli, on brioche).

Bowls: The list includes Fatush (kale, tomato, radish, crispy naan, cucumber, mint, parsley, lemon dressing), Roots, (roasted beet, sweet potato, fennel arugula, walnut, goat cheese) and Soba (warm green curry, soba noodles, snap peas, shaved carrot, cilantro, basil, green onion).

Sides: The list includes black-eyed pea salad, pickled green tomatoes, simple greens salad and cucumber salad.

Brunch: Saturdays and Sundays will feature breakfast and brunch items.

The service style: Counter service, Panera-style, where you grab a number and find a table. “Go hang out and we’ll bring your food to you,” Barbour said.

ROOTS will continue to operate as a catering service and as a food source at Legion Brewing. But as for the café opening its doors in the midst of the Dilworth neighborhood and apartment-booming South End, Barbour said, “We want to be their living room and their kitchen.”

ROOTS café

2135 South End Dr., Suite 109.

Hours: Monday-Friday 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

Phone: 704-975-1691

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 12:00 AM.