Save the Pasta (and the Tiramisù)
I like fresh pasta. But I don’t often make it at home, because I don’t have the right tools.
(For those of you that know me, yes, I have a pasta rolling machine, but the clamp is broken and I can no longer clamp it down, which makes using it… fruitless.)
(And yes, I asked for a pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer, but received the wrong one as a gift; what I got instead was the extruder, not the roller. This makes rolling pasta a one-person process, instead of needing a pasta-making buddy.)
So, with the desire to eat my pasta fresca, Gianni Cavanna came into town, and opened up a fresh pasta store. Perhaps you have heard of it? I’ve spoken of them many a time here on the blog. Simply put, they make a great product and sell it at a very decent price.
So—why are they struggling to survive? A recent article in the Times-Dispatch told of their plight: bleeding money, not likely to stay open past their 3-year anniversary. “Not enough customers,” was Gianni’s excuse, alongside some bad purchasing decisions at the shop’s opening: buying best equipment and outfitting the store with nice furniture.
Here’s one simple fact: they sell the best tiramisu dessert I have ever had. And trust me, the Messy Chef has eaten his share of tiramisu. So this my plea to you, the reader:
Please patronize Cavanna if you haven’t. He sells prosciutto, homemade pastas (both noodles and filled varieties), and one damn-good tiramisù dessert.
2272 John Rolfe Parkway John Rolfe Commons Richmond, VA 23233 phone: 804.360.9868
August 20th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
I have not had their tiramisu, but will definitely try it. I don’t get there as often I would like (I live in Powhatan and work near Brandermill) but I have always been impressed with their knowledge, guidance and the quality of their ingredients. I need to make the effort to get there more often.
August 20th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
It is a shame that Richmond cannot support a store like that. Remember Flour Garden Bakery? They have the best cookies, and strawberry cakes. Their danishes are the best I have ever have. But when everytime you went there, you are the only custoer, I knew they would not last. The bakery wase gone withing a year. Now we got the same feeling when we went to Cavanna Pasta. Normally, we were the only customer there. We even tried to come up with solutions. Raise the price on pasta may work. People who shop there come for fresh pasta, and they are not too cost conscious. Maybe more marketing? Words of mouth can only go that far. We also think maybe they should pack ready-make dinners, so that customers won’t worry about what sauce to go with their pasta. Let us hope it will survive