“It was the Hot Wet Beef that started it all,” says Morgan Hurt.
Kitchenette, the lunchtime sandwich shop Hurt co-founded with her partner, Gabriel Garcia, boasts 22 different subs, hoagies, and rolls. But the Hot Wet Beef, a juicy roast beef hoagie with eggplant and pepper spread, is the OG. The inspiration came after a bite of a roast beef sandwich in Brooklyn, a sensory experience Hurt describes as beautiful. That’s when the couple realized Charlottesville needed a place that would “combine sandwiches with actual food.”
With 20 years of restaurant experience between them, Hurt and Garcia are well-prepared to take on a casual, gourmet concept. “Dealing with food is fun!” says Hurt, a Charlottesville native who met Mexico City native Garcia while working at an Asheville, North Carolina, restaurant. In 2006, they moved to C’ville and worked at Vivace and The Whiskey Jar before opening Kitchen Catering and Events, in 2013.
They hadn’t forgotten about that magical moment with the roast beef sandwich in Brooklyn, though. In their free time, they found themselves crafting subs for friends, and trying out new flavor combinations. Hurt gushes about the appeal of sandwiches. “They are just the perfect food! They’re portable and you can do anything with them,” she says. In 2017, the pair opened Kitchenette, intending the sandwich shop to be a side project to their catering business. But when the pandemic slowed the events business, Kitchenette became their focus.
In June 2020, Kitchenette moved from a warehouse to a cozy Victorian home, tucked off of East High Street. The space is bright and has a familial feel. There’s a jar of dog treats for pups, and kids love the tables’ novelty salt-and-pepper shakers, which range from dinosaurs to kiwi birds. The new location came with a vintage clawfoot tub in the bathroom, and Hurt jokes that “the sandwiches are so messy, we offer a bath!”
A restaurant space gives Hurt and Garcia the opportunity to flex their culinary creativity and have some fun. Their stuffed sandwiches boast bold flavors and fresh ingredients, with quirky names to match. “Honestly,” says Hurt, “we have to restrain ourselves because we get very dorky with it.” Some, like Penny and Oliver’s Dream, are named after their dogs. Others, like The Ramona, are named after soccer moves. Even AC/DC’s Angus Young gets a shout-out with the Angus Yum. The Squeal is a slappin’ pork and bacon sammie with apple-ginger chutney, while The Jive Turkey’s blend of turkey, cranberry mayo, and crunchy onions elevates your average day-after-Thanksgiving concoction. The flavorful sides include curried chickpea salad, tangy kale salad, and soup of the day.
It’s guided by one goal: “We like to make it for our palates,” says Hurt, “It’s always something that we would want to eat.” Customers agree, say Hurt and Garcia, who love how regulars are always down to try the daily specials. “A lot of people are like, ‘I’ve never had anything bad here, so sure!’” says Hurt. “That’s really cool because they trust us to make it right.”
If Kitchenette is new to you, that’s part of the plan. The eatery’s founders purposely kept advertising to a minimum. “It’s given us the opportunity to learn as we grow,” says Garcia. “We feel lucky that we’ve grown more organically.” Yet it’s hard to keep good food a secret in Charlottesville, and their reputation has spread, well, through word of mouth. “We used to have slow days. There are no more slow days,” laughs Garcia. They’ve also noticed more and more customers ask about parking. “We’re like, this is cool!” says Hurt. “It means they’re not from the neighborhood, we’re spidering out.”
But Hurt and Garcia won’t let the growth change a thing. Their goal for Kitchenette is simple: “We just want it to taste good,” Hurt says.