Perk up! WV Coffee Festival is coming
- Steven Keith
- Mar 25
- 4 min read
Readers seek past recipes from Humphrey's Pine Room, Ray's Deli
There are few things in life I enjoy more than a piping hot mug of really good coffee. No milk. No sugar. No double-pump of brown sugar-dusted pistachio crema with matcha cold foam. Just a cup of fresh-roasted black coffee, so you can taste all of the nuances and terroir from where those beans were sourced.
So I really perked up when organizers reached out to tell me the 2026 West Virginia Coffee Festival is moving to the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, after previously taking place in Hurricane.
“I serve as a committee member for the West Virginia Coffee Festival and I want to personally invite you as our guest to this year’s event,” wrote Alexander Durand from Wakey Juice Pusher in Renick, WV.
“Your impact on the Charleston food scene has been influential on me, and we would be honored to have you attend.”
Alright, twist my arm.
This caffeine-fueled celebration will offer three different public sessions (at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m. that day) featuring 17 specialty coffee roasters offering free samples and coffee for sale, plus artisans, brewing demonstrations and tea vendors from around the state.
Coffee roasters on hand that day will include Aroma of the Andes, Aubade, Bean Theory, Black Dog, Cherry River, Coal River, Cultivate, Good Vibes, Hill and Holler Herbal, Hill Tree, Java Bean, Mountain Folk, Mountain Table, River Roasters, Sibling, Silver Bridge Coffee Company and Vaniks.
Additional exhibitors will be selling everything from macarons, fudge, chocolates, pastries, jams, maple syrup and beer syrup (what?!) to mugs, candles, textiles and prints.
You can buy tickets for any session or an all-day pass, both of which include entry to the festival, a program with all event details, access to live demonstrations and a mug you can use to sample the 50+ beverages expected to be offered that day.
For more information, visit www.wvcoffeefestival.com. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.chaswvccc.com/events/2026/the-wv-coffee-festival.
Reader remembers beloved Ray’s Deli sandwich
Food Guy fans, unite! Reader Donna Chambers needs help tracking down a beloved local recipe that predates my time here in Charleston.
“While talking with my brother Steve Veltri recently, he was reminiscing about his younger days and his weekly visits to Ray’s Deli in Kanawha City,” she recently told me. “He said he so wished he would have kept a menu, which was very detailed about every sandwich offered in the deli.”
She said her brother’s favorite sandwich at Ray’s was the Yachtsman, which he enjoyed with a Stroh’s beer back in the mid-to-late 70s.
“Do you have any idea where I could find the ingredients for the Yachtsman sandwich? I'm a little younger than him, but I remember Ray’s Deli well. The Reuben was my favorite. Thank you in advance for your help. I’m a big fan of your weekly column.”
Thanks so much, Donna!
Although I didn’t live in Charleston when Ray's Deli was still around, I’ve heard from several readers who loved the place. I’ve only been able to track down a rough recipe for their Almost Heaven sandwich so far, but nothing for the Yachtsman yet.
Can anyone out there help Donna out?
Reader seeks Humphrey’s Pine Room recipes
This is flattering, but also a bit daunting.
“Good morning, Mr. Keith. I’m reaching out with a seemingly impossible request, but I know you have a large audience, so if anyone can do it, it’s you,” Vicki Schafer wrote to me this week. “For some reason, Humphrey’s Pine Room restaurant keeps coming up organically in my recent conversations and posts from friends on Facebook. This has stirred so many happy memories of eating there as a child with my granny and mom.”
She said the restaurant’s spaghetti and homemade rolls were their particular favorites from the Charleston hotspot of yesteryear that opened on Bigley Avenue back in 1946, where it operated for decades before closing.
“Is there any way you could reach out to your readers to see if anyone happens to have recipes for those two comfort foods from my childhood,” she asked. “And thank you for keeping us foodies informed on all the new developments in the region.”
Based on previous reader requests, I’ve only been able to track down a recipe for the Pine Room’s stewed tomato and dumplings, which I shared back in July 2024.
But I know there are still a lot of Humphrey’s fans out there. Does anyone else have a connection to any of those beloved dishes from the past?
Steven Keith is a food writer and restaurant critic known as “The Food Guy” who writes a weekly column for the Charleston Gazette-Mail and has appeared in several state, regional and national publications. Follow him online at www.wvfoodguy.com or on Facebook, X, Instagram and Pinterest as “WV Food Guy.” He can be reached at wvfoodguy@aol.com.
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