The following article appeared in the Palm Beach Daily News on May 24, 2023.
‘Kale of Two Cities’: Café with literary-themed menu opens on Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue
Jodie Wagner Palm Beach Daily News
Adrienne and Matthew Raptis opened Via Roma Cafe in Via Roma along Worth Avenue in Palm Beach May 2023. Meghan McCarthy/The Palm Beach Daily News, Meghan McCarthy
A European-style café with a literary-themed menu opened its doors this month in Palm Beach.
Via Roma Cafe, a take-out eatery that serves breakfast, lunch, snacks and smoothies, occupies a 525-square-foot space in the Via Roma Building at 329 Worth Ave.
It is one of three businesses in the seven-unit building owned by Matthew and Adrienne Raptis.
Via Roma was the perfect spot to open a small café, Matthew Raptis said.
Though Worth Avenue is known for its shopping and dining, he said, there are few eateries that offer a quick bite to eat or a fresh-brewed cup of coffee to go.
Chef Cyrille Regottaz of Via Roma Cafe has created a menu featuring European-style delicacies in addition to traditional items. Meghan McCarthy/The Palm Beach Daily News. Meghan McCarthy
“It’s a great place for Palm Beachers or tourists to venture out and have a cup of coffee or a sandwich or a salad,” Raptis said. “They’re all spectacular. Worth Avenue needed this, especially in the 300 block.”
Via Roma Cafe was inspired by European-style cafés that offer coffee, tea, and European delicacies, Adrienne Raptis said.
Via Roma Cafe features a literary-themed menu and a ‘Wall of Fame’ with signed memorabilia. Photo courtesy of Raptis Rare Books
Its menu features items like salads with grilled octopus, and sandwiches with ham, brie and eggplant.
There are also traditional menu items like club sandwiches, Greek salads, açai bowls and bagels with smoked salmon, as well as cookies, muffins and apple tarts.
Via Roma Cafe in Via Roma along Worth Avenue in Palm Beach features a literary-themed menu.
Meghan McCarthy/The Palm Beach Daily News, Meghan McCarthy
“Our chef (Cyrille Regottaz) is from France, so he brings a whole European flavor,” Adrienne Raptis said. “We say it’s European flavor, island-style.”
Every item on the menu was given a literary name as a nod to Raptis Rare Books, a bookstore that the couple opened in its original Worth Avenue location in 2016.
Menu options include “The Count of Monte Cristo,” “Kale of Two Cities” and “The Tell Tale Tart.”
“I did the names,” Adrienne Raptis said. “I had a lot of fun. Because we have a bookstore, it was fun to come up with these names.”
