Fido, the popular coffeehouse and restaurant in Hillsboro Village that is part of the Bongo Java empire, is about to open a smaller sister cafe next door. Fetch, as it is named, will serve a grab-and-go menu of food from Fido's kitchen, says restaurateur Bob Bernstein, Bongo Java's head honcho. It will open for business at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Fetch fills the space at 1804 21st Ave. S. that formerly housed Hot & Cold, a coffee-and-dessert Bongo concept that closed last year. Bernstein initially planned to launch a new restaurant concept there, but he says he realized that given how busy Fido is, especially on weekends, it made sense to open Fetch as a takeout space for Fido, with its own full coffee bar.
The menu will feature sandwiches, hot soups and pre-made snacks like hummus and bagels. And of course, there will be paletas, the excellent Mexican-style frozen pops created by Las Paletas, the 12South spot owned by sisters Norma Paz and Irma Paz Bernstein (the latter is Bob Bernstein's wife).
Fetch will also serve local High Garden kombucha on draft, and the team is hoping to soon secure a permit to serve local beer on draft, along with filling growlers to go. Though it's mostly aimed at takeout, Fetch will have about 16 seats.
It's the second recent opening for Bongo Java, which recently relocated the company's bakery operations from the Fido kitchen to a brand-new bakery and cafe called BOX at 2229 10th Ave. S. (The name is a sort-of acronym for "Bongo on 10th.")
In fact, the exit of the bakery operations to the new joint allowed room for Bernstein to connect Fido's kitchen to Fetch (originally the two spaces were separated by a wall).
Fetch will operate 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, though it may eventually start opening earlier on weekends. Online ordering will also eventually be set up.
