
DATE: Sunday, June 29, 1997                 TAG: 9706270227

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 05   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: ON THE TOWN IN PORTSMOUTH 

SOURCE: Sam Martinette 

                                            LENGTH:   90 lines

WHERE SOTTO VOCE USED TO BE, NOW YOU CAN SEE A RELLEK

Gene Kellermeyer figured that when he hit 65, he'd take it easy and go into semi-retirement, so he opened a restaurant.

The owner of the new Rellek Koffee Haus on High Street laughed, recalling the response of his legal adviser.

``My attorney had been in the restaurant business before becoming a lawyer, and he said, `If you're going into semi-retirement, you're going into the wrong business,' '' Kellermeyer said.

The coffee house, which draws on Kellermeyer's German-American background for the Teutonic twist to the name, is in the former Sotto Voce, and Kellermeyer is using much of that eatery's menu, with the blessing of the former owner. The antique farm implements on the walls relate to his Ohio boyhood, when he spent summers working on his uncle's farm.

``I guess I've used all of those at one time, except for the washboard,'' he said, pointing out the saw, pitchfork, scythe and other farming tools. ``I've wanted to do a coffee house for about 12 years, and I started collecting antiques for it. I could equip two more coffee houses with the things I have in storage.

``Even these oddball tables and chairs aren't an accident,'' he said, referring to the furniture, a mix of tile and wooden kitchen tables.

Kellermeyer owned a corrosion-control business in Maryland and lived in a small town on the banks of the Patuxent River. He first came to Virginia Beach as an adviser on underground storage tanks. He liked what he saw and moved to the Beach last December.

But that was before he saw Portsmouth. One real estate agent led to another, who showed him the vacant property on High Street.

``I looked in Virginia Beach because everybody kept saying, `Don't go to Portsmouth,' but if I had seen Olde Towne first, I would have bought here. I knew the minute I saw (the empty coffee house) it was exactly what I was looking for.''

It may be the same address and much the same menu as Sotto Voce, but the interior is entirely different. ``I painted the walls to soften it, took out the fluorescent lighting, put in new carpeting and more seating,'' Kellermeyer said.

As for the name, it has a bit of whimsy to it, playing on the antique shops nearby and . . . well, you figure it out.

Opened a month ago, the Rellek Koffee Haus was empty when I visited recently for lunch, at about 1 p.m., and I figured the rush was over, but by the time I placed my order, five of eight tables were taken, with more to come.

``I see a lot of business people and students from the college,'' Kellermeyer said. ``I'm so new that I don't know who all of them are yet, but I think many were customers before.''

The coffee house opens for a light breakfast on weekdays, such as a ham or turkey and cheese croissant ($2.25), biscuits and gravy ($2.25), or a Smithfield Ham biscuit ($1.25), as well as bagels, brownies, muffins and pastries.

Sandwiches include the Ice Box, homemade chicken salad with lettuce and tomato on a croissant ($3.95); the Model T, homemade white albacore tuna salad on a croissant with the same ($3.95); and the Trolley Car, smoked turkey breast in fresh Parisian-style bread with lettuce, tomato, and Swiss or cheddar cheese ($3.95). The Olde Towne Turkey Melt has smoked turkey with Swiss and cheddar on foccacia bread with honey mustard, lettuce and tomato ($4.75); the Steamboat consists of roast beef, lettuce, tomato, Swiss or cheddar on Parisian bread ($3.95); and the Victory Garden is a veggie sandwich with raw red pepper, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, Swiss and cheddar on Parisian bread ($3.50). Most sandwiches come with chips, and some with baked, German-style potato salad.

The Cook Stove sandwich, fresh and enjoyable, has chunks of char-grilled chicken on Parisian bread, lettuce, sliced red pepper, and honey mustard, and comes with potato salad ($4.25). New is the Shrimpboat, with steamed shrimp, lettuce and tomato on focaccia ($5.95).

Specialty coffees include cafe latte, cappuccino, cafe au lait, espresso and others, and fresh-squeezed lemonade and limeade are also offered. Order at the counter and they'll bring it to you. Smokers have their own outdoor table. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE

Gene Kellermeyer, who owns the new Rellek Koffee Haus on High

Street, drew on his background for the German twist to the name.

He's using much of Sotto Voce's menu, but the decor - complete with

antique farm tools - is all his own.

Graphic

AT A GLANCE

Rellek Koffee Haus: 331 High St., 393-6969.

Food: Light breakfast, sandwiches, salads, specialty coffees; no

ABC.

Prices: Most sandwiches $4-$5 range.

Hours: 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Mon.-Thurs.; 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday; 10

a.m.-11 p.m., Sat.; dessert & coffee only after 6 p.m., Thurs.-Sat.