Vienna Business Spotlight: Caffe Amouri

Laura Schwartz is a licensed Realtor in VA, D.C. and MD with McEnearney Associates in McLean. Reach the office at 703-790-9090.

A Vienna staple since July 2010, Caffe Amouri is more than just a local coffee house.

Their mission is built around community, which is easily seen by their participation in school “Walking Wednesdays” where they provide coffee for parents, Vienna Idol and about 20 or so other charities or fundraisers. They encourage sustainability; they encourage customers to reuse coffee sleeves and only take straws when necessary.

They recently expanded the space located on Church Street to allow for more seating, large tables for collaboration, a roasting sample area and some outdoor seating. They have WiFi, although they turn it off on the weekends to encourage people to actually engage with each other (oh, the horror!). They also have open mic nights, Penny University (free classes & talks) and other events (check the online calendar).

Now to get to the good stuff: the coffee and the food.

My husband loves the white mocha and the iced coffee, I’m a traditional Cappuccino girl, and my kids love their hot chocolate. But their menu is so big they have a binder of coffee options and tea, along with some specials (honey cinnamon latte!) that make for nice out of the ordinary drinks. They have local treats at the register like granola, gluten free sweets, cookies and nuts. There’s also a sandwich menu (breakfast and lunch).

Other things you might not know: there’s a strong inventory of table games to borrow in the back. There’s parking in front, on the street and in the back; there’s a rear entrance. If you park there while they’re roasting, you’ll often see things floating around the air from the roasting.

My favorite thing is the trivia. Every day at the register there’s a new question posted. If you get it right, they take 10 cents off your drink.