$2.50 Cafe Pagato — Sub Rosa Bakery
#ExactChange — January 17, 2018
Sub Rosa Bakery started as a secret bakery that operated out of the back of a beat up old Volvo station wagon. You could find their bread “Under the Rose” at the farmers markets in the RVA. Today they have a brightly lit, corner location in the Churchill Neighborhood. I love everything about this place, from it’s humble secret pop up roots, to the Lamplighter roasted coffee to the wood fired ovens where everything is made by hand by the brother and sister owners, Evrim and Evin Dogu.
I’ve been coming here almost every weekend since we moved here and today I noticed an item on their coffee menu listed as “Caffe Pagato” and asked if I could order one. It’s not something you can buy for yourself, rather it is a gift that you pay for in advance, for a stranger in need of a coffee and not enough change to pay for it. The custom comes from Naples, Italy and is also known as suspended coffee. Cafes sometime tape suspended coffee receipts on the wall, so that customers can use if needed. At Sub Rosa there is a set of espresso cups hanging directly behind register. I couldn’t suspend a coffee today because the board is completely paid up. I will keep an eye out , so I can suspend a coffee in #ExactChange.
Need some coffee? Ask for a “Caffe Pagato” or pay it forward for someone else. I love the RVA!
