Caputo's

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People wonder what it is that creates a sense of place. This place has "it".  With fresh, gourmet sandwiches, salads and pasta, I always walk away full and smiling after lunch. They also have a wide variety of imported and local specialty foods, and even have their own cheese cave so they control the temperature and humidity of their cheeses as they age. 

However, Caputo's is so much more than a restaurant or specialty foods store. It is the anchor to a perfect example of what an urban, mixed-use development should be. There are three smaller restaurants in the same plaza, office space upstairs, and condos next door with a bike shop underneath. This area feels old and fresh at the same time. Perhaps the freshness comes from the flowers, the fun music in the background, or seeing Tony Caputo himself out busing tables and chatting with customers. 

Check out the yellow sign in this picture. It says, "Caution: Large trucks might block parking lot at any time. Park at your own risk." 

This setup flies in the face of typical site plans, where the trucks pull in from behind, and are out of site, out of mind. I love this set up of having the trucks pull in the front. I love that you get to see workers unloading pallets of food off of their trucks in the morning. It makes this place seem genuine. Good urban development is about compromise. It's about setting things up to create a great experience for people, and working to make the truck and auto traffic work around that premise- not the other way around. Caputo's is proof that it works