Well, here we are again, in the news!! We enjoyed our visit from Yvonne & we love Metromix! Here are the highlights but be sure to read the whole article here.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
If you frequent Christopher Park Gallery in the West End of downtown Greenville, you might have a bit of déjà vu if you stop in for a bite or a cup of tea at Rainer’s, the sandwich shop next door.
That’s because Rainer’s (pronounced like rye bread)—which opened in mid-May 2009—and the gallery are both owned by Betty Bercowski and feature much of the same art.
The idea, according to manager Matthew Blalock, is to “create a place where people can come and have dessert and coffee and feel like they’re doing so in a gallery atmosphere.”
Named for Bercowski’s son, a 22-year-old college student, the airy, long space indeed looks like a café within a gallery. The walls are adorned with bright paintings and sculptures and larger pieces fill the corners of the restaurant.
Even the light fixtures, tables and chairs are works of art—and if you like what you see while you bite into that roast beef sandwich, you can take it home with you. Everything in the gallery, from the art on the walls to the coffee mugs to the chairs are for sale.
“So you can eat a really fresh meal off of interesting dishware and have a cup of coffee out of an interesting cup, and if you like it, you can buy it. It’s available to you,” Blalock says.
Those fresh meals, all made in-house and to order, consist of straight sandwich shop-style fare, including black bean salad and Blalock’s signature chicken salad (which he promises will never have too much mayo) with some twists.
A large display case shows off a variety of desserts, all home made by four local women. A native New Yorker takes care of the cheesecake and the tiramisu, and a German makes “unbelievable” layer cakes, according to Blalock. Other offerings include red velvet, carrot and chocolate cake.
And if your tastes trend toward the retro, there’s always the JELL-O parfait dessert, which pairs a layer of JELL-O and a layer of sweet cream cheese, topped with whipped cream.
Rainer’s also prides itself on its French press, fair trade coffee from Travelers Rest spot Leopard Forest and its uncaffeinated herbal tea sweetened with agave nectar.
Though the space is filled with art, Blalock says the décor is a work in progress.
“It changes all the time, and we’re slowly but surely filling everything up,” he says. “We wouldn’t put something up there just to have something to look at. We want it to be right.”
Blalock says the café’s eager-to-please vibe (if you’re in the mood for something not on the menu but they have the ingredients to make it, it’s yours) the freshness of the food and the thought put into the artwork contribute to its laid-back charm.
“We’re local, we’re comfortable, we’re not stuffy,” Blalock says. “We’re just a relaxed place to come and eat.”
Courtesy of Yvonne Zusel & Metromix, Greenville.
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